Mustangs Corralled by Firebirds
John Hoh
Saturday April 21, 2001
The Mustangs let the Firebirds fly away with a 38-6 decision from the Bradley Center, but despite the low Firebirds’ score, the game wasn’t even close.
Maybe it was the rescheduled game, played a day before originally scheduled because the Wave indoor soccer team came up with a playoff date. Or the notoriously slow starts the Mustangs have become famous for the last three years. One could blame the news of an impending move -- but then, the owner, Andrew Vallozzi, and his son and general manager, Chris, didn’t learn of the Bradley Center plans until halftime. I doubt that they would have rushed down to the locker room to announce such news. Not with the Mustangs trailing 17-0.
Whatever the reason, it looked ominously close to history in the making. Only the now-defunct New Orleans Night was ever shut out in Arena League history -- a 50-0 pasting by the Orlando Predators. As it was, there was just over five minutes left -- in the entire game! -- when the Mustangs erased their goose egg from the scoreboard. The single touchdown pass kept the team from a notorious statistic, but didn’t do much else.
The defense was capable; keeping an opponent under 40 points has traditionally been good for a victory (although two teams accomplished that this week and still lost). But a defense without an offense is like a steed without a saddle. The Mustangs never reined in its power and found its gait.
Craig Kusick’s homecoming to his first AFL team was forgettable. Completing 18 of 36 passes for a 50% clip, he gained only 109 passing yards. One could anticipate a slow start for the offense, but not this slow. Kusick needs protection, and he and his receivers need to connect for the Mustangs to fly.
After the game (can it be called that?), Coach Frazier was unavailable for comment. The news was less about the game and more about the stunning announcement that Bradley Center renovations could mean the Mustangs may not be able to use the Bradley Center for the 2002 season -- and maybe the 2003 season. The US Cellular Arena, next to the Bradley Center, is a much smaller venue that does not meet the league-required seating minimum of 12,000. During the preseason game at US Cellular with the Florida Bobcats, it was also evident that the building would have trouble with the AFL game, as the nets were not properly aligned.
What should be of immediate concern to the Mustangs, though, is to right the ship and recover from this devastating loss. They travel to Grand Rapids, a solid team, next week. Last year the Mustangs won at Grand Rapids, but this year Grand Rapids has stepped it up a notch. The following week, Tampa Bay, expected by many to host the ArenaBowl this year, comes to Milwaukee.
Frazier wanted a fast start out of the gate this year, but if corrections aren’t made, they could start 0-3 before meeting their first real chance at a win – the Houston ThunderBears -- at a place yet to be determined.
As for the Milwaukee arena situation, stay tuned. I’ll get both sides of the story. Hopefully that news will turn out better than the results of Thursday’s game.
John L. Hoh, Jr., is a free-lance writer from Milwaukee who grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin, as an avid Dolphins fan. He followed Arena Football since its inception, at one point watching tape-delayed games on low-powered WAV-TV in Waukesha. His happiest day was when Milwaukee was awarded the Mustangs franchise; his saddest when the Mustangs were contracted out of the league. John is married to his wife Maija (13+ years) and has a young son, Matthew. John pines for the return of the Arena Football League to Milwaukee.
