Dear Joe Hamilton
Adam J Locascio
Tuesday April 17, 2007
I am writing to you today with a simple request: call the St. Pete Times Forum and ask to speak to Coach Tim Marcum of the Tampa Bay Storm. Tell him you want to join the team.
I don’t know if you’ve been watching any Arena football this season, and to be honest, I would not be surprised if you weren’t. If I was in your cleats, I’d be pretty sour about the sport, too. When I read that the Orlando Predators released you after an ArenaBowl appearance in 2006 and a conference championship in 2005, I about scratched my head down to the skull. You won 66.7% of your games as a starter in the AFL and was a second-team All-Arena. You came within a garbage pass interference call of going to back-to-back ArenaBowls and they toss you aside? What more could a team want? Nevertheless, they cut you in favor of a quarterback who never even won the division. Take solace in the fact that the Preds are 3-3 with two wins coming over a 1-win team.
Hardly dominant.
I know what kind of competitor you are. You see, I am a die-hard Florida State Seminoles fan and I got to see what you are capable of first hand. I watched that game on September 11, 1999 when you single-handedly took on Florida State and came within a touchdown of ending their dream season in Week 2. I had never been more nervous and frustrated watching college football. I even remember Bobby Bowden saying that he didn’t want to play one more second of that game after it was over.
I remember when you were signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and I remember the sparks in the fourth quarter of preseason games in Tampa Bay. Oh sure they didn’t count, but being a back-up QB for the Bucs is about the best job in the world, because every fan loves you when the first-stringer throws a pick. Trust me, Bucs fans were clamoring for Steve DeBerg at one time.
Then I heard that the Predators signed you in 2004 and while some fans thought you were just another rookie QB, I saw what you did to the Seminoles and I knew you were trouble for the Storm and any other team that played against you. I read the scouting reports. “Too short to play quarterback at a high level.” I never quite understood why it mattered how tall you were as long as you completed passes and won games. Heck, I’d put a blind collie behind center if I thought it could win seven out of ten football games.
After your career as a Yellow Jacket and a Predator, I am tired of fearing you and your abilities. I want you on my team. I want to root FOR you. I want to see some of that Mighty Joe Magic. Storm quarterback Stoney Case was injured last week against the Predators and the team is forced to turn to John Kaleo. Kaleo is a good quarterback, but he was released, resigned, and benched in favor of Case three weeks ago. If this season is going to be salvaged (and yes, I still have faith), the Storm need a playmaker.
The Storm need someone that can throw the team on his shoulders and resurrect them from the mire that this once proud franchise is floundering in right now. Everyone just seems to be going through the motions. There’s no spark or electricity. The Storm have exactly two wins in a calendar year – both against expansion teams. It’s usually well into May until the Devil Rays have more wins than the Storm. That is flat-out unacceptable.
I’m not saying that the Storm’s only problem is at quarterback, but it doesn’t appear than anyone is stepping up and lighting the fuse on the firecracker that is the 2007 season. We need a couple of busted plays that turn into long gains. We need some improvisation that Seminole fans hated in 1999. We need the guy who worked as the Michael Vick stunt-double for the Bucs in 2002.
I think you’d look pretty good in blue and gold.
We need you. We need Joe Hamilton.
And by the way, wouldn’t it just feel good to shove your success down the Predators throat by joining their rival?
Yours truly,
Adam J. Locascio
Adam J. Locascio is a financial advisor in the Tampa Bay area and a Board Member of the Tampa Bay Storm Surge Fan Club. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Phoenix and is a six-year season ticket holder for the Tampa Bay Storm.
