After 10 months, 2 weeks, and 4 days, the Arena Football League finally returned to Huntington Field at Nationwide Arena. The Columbus Destroyers were ready for the AFL again as 16,390 fans packed the stands to catch the Destroyers take on the defending Arena Bowl Champions, the Chicago Rush. 

But too many mistakes, and a nearly perfect performance by the Rush led to a disappointing 55-47 Destroyers loss. Key Destroyers fumbles led to easy Rush scores, and again the Destroyers kept giving the opposition second chances with inopportune penalties. 

Also discouraging was the play of Columbus QB Matt Nagy, who more than once missed wide open receivers downfield, a problem the Destroyers had last season and were suppose to rectify with Nagy at the helm. It was also Nagy’s fumble in the end zone that was recovered by Chicago for a late game sealing touchdown. 

Nagy’s fumble occurred just after the Destroyers had reduced a 17 point deficit (45-28) to 8 points (48-40), and the Destroyers defense had just pushed Chicago into a turnover on downs giving the Destroyers a chance to tie the game. This makes two games in a row that Nagy has turned the ball over late in the game with the balance of the game on the line. 

The offense also failed to put out any significant offensive numbers, totaling only 163 yards in the game. However, that low total was also greatly influenced by how quickly the clock moved in the game. The Destroyers offense only had 8 possessions. Chicago had only 10, two of which were limited by the end of the first and second halves. Chicago only managed to gain 238 yards as well. 

But don’t let the limited yards by Chicago lead you to believe the Destroyers defense was solid. It’s not. After three games, the overwhelming defensive force from last years team is no where to be seen. It wasn’t until late in the 3rd quarter that the defense was able to produce their first stop of the game. There seems to be a confidence that’s lacking from last years defensive squad.

In fact, when Coach Kay decided to kick deep with 1 minute remaining, and the Destroyers down 55-47, many immediately questioned why he didn’t go for the onside kick. Perhaps last year, the deep kick would be the right call with a defense capable of making a stop. But this season, it appears this defense couldn’t stop a car with stop sign, let alone an opposing AFL offense. Columbus burnt all its timeouts on Chicago’s first three plays, and a Chicago first down sealed the Destroyers fate as Chicago was able to then run out the clock. We’ve got no defense this year. Go for the onside kick next time.

But the loss didn’t result in a completely disappointed crowd. As the fans filed out of Nationwide Arena, Ohio State Buckeye cheers echoed through the halls. And visions of the win that put OSU in their first NCAA Final Four appearance in 8 years were seen on the big screen outside the southeast arena entrance. 

One last note. The NBA’s Kobe Bryant has taken a lot of heat recently for what many are perceiving as taking “cheap shots” while he plays. Well, watching Chicago wide receiver Bobby Sippio play makes Kobe look like a four year girl old at a petting zoo. Sippio looks like the leading candidate for the IronFist of the Year award. He was taking so many cheap shots during plays that the refs even turned a blind eye to Destroyers players retaliating after the play. I guess even the refs figured Sippio deserved it. But Sippio was the offensive star of the game, catching Chicago’s first three touchdowns. Chicago, which started the 2006 season 5-9, has won 9 of their last 10 (including the Arena Bowl) since Sippio arrived after being cut from the Tampa Bay Storm for being a cancer to the team. Looks like Chicago has sold its soul to the dev… er… uh… Sippio, for the chance to win. Good luck with that.