It Looks Like Cleveland Has Found Their Summer Love
Will Burge
Friday March 7, 2008
The Cleveland Gladiators' inaugural season couldn’t have gotten off to a better start. It began with a deep touchdown pass and ended with an interception returned for a one. The result: a victory and a city in love.
“Man, this is truly beautiful. Cleveland is the best city I have ever played in, ever in my life! The fans (are) amazing and I’m just looking forward to next week and Utah,” Cleveland’s wide receiver/defensive back Robert Redd said of the crowd in the first game of the season.
The city by the lake is a notorious football town. The popular phrase is “we bleed orange and brown.” They soon may have to add red and black to that list. The fast paced, hard hitting action of Arena Football is right up this blue collar town’s alley.
All it took was the lights to dim and some minor pyrotechnics, and the crowd was on their feet and screaming at a deafening level. Even more astonishing, though, was the fact that the team kept them on their feet and cheering the whole game.
17,391 people showed up to witness the first arena football game in Cleveland since the short lived Cleveland Thunderbolts left in 1994. That team went 8-27 over three seasons and a miserable 4-13 at home. It’s safe to say that Cleveland was hesitant to embrace another here today gone tomorrow AFL franchise.
The Gladiators knew this and their promotion campaign was in full gear months before the team even began training camp. The first step, and perhaps most important, was bringing in Bernie Kosar as a minority owner and the face of the franchise. Kosar is a god in Cleveland. He was Cleveland’s quarterback for over a decade and is the most beloved figure in the modern era of the Browns.
The next step was revamping a roster that had gone 4-24 over the past two seasons. The Gladiators knew that this could really catch on with the fans if they presented a competitive team, but if the team started off slow it could hurt attendance, especially since they play no home games between Week 2 and Week 7.
Gladiators coach Mike Wilpolt said, “I think we gave the fans a lot to look forward to. We have a talented team. We did make a lot of mistakes tonight but we still came out on top.”
Raymond Philyaw added, “The fans and sponsorship want to make sure they invest in a product that’s worth investing (in). I think we went out and put a good show on for those guys.”
So the newest child in the Cleveland sports family is 1-0. It’s a great start but the work is not completely done. Winning over the hearts and minds of Cleveland’s fans takes a little more than one evening of flirtation. Ticket sales are looking very good once again for Sunday’s home game against the Utah Blaze. But if the Gladiators lose and come back home 1-4 in Week 7, will the love still be there?
Or will this be another crush that fades away as quickly as it came?
Only time will tell whether what the city of Cleveland feels is true love or just lust. Lust for a game that is as wild as a three ring circus with the devastating blows of a UFC fight. Maybe it’s just lust for a game that can be a temporary diversion until the Browns get back to training camp.
Or maybe this is true love.
Like the old saying goes, only fools rush in. I guess you could call Cleveland residents fools then because they seem to be jumping in head first.
Will Burge is a journalism student in Cleveland, Ohio. He is currently working at ESPN 850 WKNR which is the flagship station for The Cleveland Gladiators. Will also reports and writes articles for High School Sports in the Greater Cleveland Area. He has been an avid fan of Arena Football for the past four years.
