A Happy Anniversary

Rob Hammersmith
Sunday July 15, 2007

We’ve heard it all during the last week. “Columbus got lucky.” “Dallas always chokes in the playoffs.” Etc, etc. Anything and everything had been said to discredit Columbus from any accomplishment made during the Dallas upset. 

But the Columbus Destroyers responded to the nay sayers, and responded loudly… “Hey everyone, Columbus is for real!”

Beating the Dallas Desperados was not an instance of lightning striking in the right place at the right time. And if you don’t believe me, ask Georgia and Tampa Bay. In the last three weeks Columbus has knocked off a team that won 9 of its last 10 games, and two teams that combined went 29-3.

If this is all luck, then all Destroyers players should be advised to buy lottery tickets in bulk, because this amount of luck is unheard of. The bottom line is, Columbus is doing a lot of things right, and at the right time. 

In fact, the entire regular season seemed to be a series of “What if’s” after things went wrong. What if Peter Martinez had hit his kicks? What if Matt Nagy hadn’t turned over the ball with the game on the line in the 4th quarter? What if our jack linebacker could just keep his butt in the box? What if… what if…. what if… was a constant phrase following nearly every one of Columbus’ nine losses this year. There were so many games we controlled that went awry because something went wrong just at the wrong time. 

But now we’ve gotten to see what this team can do when those “what if’s” hold true. Nagy has been clutch in the 4th during the playoffs. Martinez has been fantastic hitting his kicks in the playoffs. And we’re rarely heard the “illegal defense” called against our jack linebacker. The result?... Columbus is one win away from winning the whole thing. 

I have to admit, when I saw the Destroyers up 21-7 against Georgia, my wife and I started looking for what kind of hotel my Marriott Rewards points could get us in New Orleans. When they took a 42-21 lead just after the 2nd half began, we started looking at how much flights would cost. 

But when Georgia came back to take the lead 49-48, I began predicting that this would end up being another “what if” game. The Destroyers proved me wrong. Columbus came back to outscore Georgia 18-7 for the rest of the game. 

And I owe a big thank you to the Destroyers for that. You see, This Georgia/Destroyers game was being played on our wedding anniversary. Instead of going somewhere nice, we decided to stay home so we could watch the game. I can’t imagine what our evening would be like if we had to witness a season ending devastating choke job.

As a result my loving wife graciously gave me the time to write this article. But my time is up. Gotta run. See all you guys in New Orleans.