Storylines abound in the Joe Albi Classic
Don Eisenbarth
Saturday July 9, 2011
I love sport because of the fact that it is the best unscripted drama in the world. Every game brings new stories and themes, and ever season is batch of those stories collected together in new and interesting ways. Arena football can provide all that drama and more as the fast paced nature of the game brings back and forth scoring that can increase the drama until it’s at a fever pitch at the end of the game, and the fan interaction makes you care about the players on your team in a personal way that is unmatched in professional sports.
In the few years I’ve been following the Utah Blaze, I have never seen a game with as many storylines as today’s game versus the Spokane Shock. Today’s game is a unique event, and a momentous game in the seasons of the two teams, so with that being understood, let’s quickly look at the three major storylines for the Joe Albi Classic between the Utah Blaze and the Spokane Shock.
First Outdoor Arena Football Game
Along with being a big fan of the drama of sports, I'm also a big fan of the comedy of the Onion, America's best source of hilarious fake news. One of my favorite stories was this little gem written shortly before the 2008 season. So, when this game was first announced at the beginning of the season I took it for what it was a joke. Now that game day is here and I’m seeing the pictures of the arena configuration outside in the stadium it feels real, but there’s still a part of me that feels like this is a joke.
I don’t blame whatever marketing person at the Shock front office who came up with the idea. I’m a big hockey fan and the Winter Classic is a time every year where my family gathers around and enjoys a game of hockey. It’s an event, and something that people can gather around and enjoy together. It puts a new interest in hockey on a yearly basis and installs new interest in the sport. Obviously the Shock want that as well and just assumed that if they built nets, people would come, but what may work for Hockey may not work for Arena Football.
The Joe Albi Classic fails to be what the Winter Classic is because of two factors. First, it’s not a reconnection with the players and their roots. You hear stories of how the hockey players used to go out play hockey on frozen lakes or ponds. No one ever went outside to play Arena Football as a kid. They went and played football. The field may not have been 100 yards, or 50 yards, but there were definitely no dasher boards or rebound nets.
Second, moving a game outside fundamentally changes the game of Arena Football. Arena Football is so woven into where it’s played that it’s even in the name, and playing Arena Football in a stadium just feels like a joke. Fans are meant to be right next to the action, not sitting in bleachers yards away from it. Rebound nets are supposed to be hung from the ceiling, not swaying in the wind hung by cranes.
That being said, it will be interesting to watch the first ever outdoor-indoor football game, but we didn’t need to spark my interest, I love Arena Football. For me, the best thing about this situation is that it calls for me to do something I've never have been able to do or will maybe never be able to do again:
Weather Report for Tonight’s Game:
Temperatures in the low 70's/high 60's with more clear skies than clouds. The nets should be moderately still, with a slight south to southwest breeze for most of the game but a few strong gusts may be seen. There is currently no chance of rain.
Utah loses Grady, sign 44 year old AFL QB legend.
It's a bad sign when your starting Wide Receiver is playing Quarterback, but that's what happened when both Tommy Grady and back-up Jordan Rasmussen were injured in last week's game against the Chicago Rush. With both QB's hurt, WR Ernie Pierce took the snaps on the last drive of the game. All three of those players are unavailable for today's game as Grady and Rasmussen were both placed on the IR and Pierce was picked up by the UFL and released by the Blaze.
Looking for a new QB, the Blaze were able to find a SIFL quarterback who is finished with his season, and a true AFL veteran. 44 year old Todd Hammel, a 17 year AFL veteran was signed by the Blaze. Hammel, who played his first game in the AFL when I was 7, is joining the Blaze at a critical juncture of the season and will be the frontrunner for the starting Quarterback position as he knows the AFL and Head Coach Ron James demands (having played for him with the Houston Thunderbears). Just so we can say defunct team names, Hammel has also played for the Dallas Texans, Fort Worth Cavalry, the original Milwaukee Mustangs, the Florida Bobcats, Grand Rapids Rampage, Las Vegas Gladiators and Colorado Crush.
Losing Grady to injury and picking up Hammel is a rough but intriguing turn of events for the Blaze. It’s almost like losing the Brett Favre of the late 90’s and replacing him with Brett Favre of the late 2000’s. It’s still Brett Favre, but you know that his best days are behind him. That being said, having a Quarterback with that much experience in the AFL come in at this short notice is nothing short of a miracle for the Blaze, and it will be interesting to see how Hammel performs as the season winds down and the final push for the playoffs continue.
His likely backup is EJ Nemeth who joins after finishing his season in the SIFL. Nemeth also played in the AIFA in 2010. Utah tried playing an AIFA Quarterback early last season, it didn't go well.
Final Playoff Spot up for grabs
With all the focus coming on the outdoor nature of the game, it can be easy to forget that tonight’s game has huge implications for the last remaining playoff spot in the national conference. With Spokane and Utah tied at 7-8 the winner of this game will have a one game advantage over their nearest competition with only 2 games to go and also the tie breaker over the other.
With the loss of Grady and Pierce and the need for the Blaze to integrate a new quarterback, Spokane looks to have the edge over Utah. But who knows, this seems to be a situation that’s ripe for strange things to happen. I mean, they are playing an Arena Football game outdoors.
Don Eisenbarth has been following the Utah Blaze since 2006, but this is his first year covering for ArenaFan. Born in Provo to a family of BYU fans and having graduated from the University of Utah, Don has enjoyed all sides of the Utah college football landscape for decades and is excited for the return of professional football to the Beehive State. You can follow him on twitter at http://twitter.com/bigdondoo
