Second Quarter Does in Horses
John Hoh
Tuesday July 3, 2001
Much better than the first game, thank you. But the result is still an “L”—the seventh “L” for the Mustangs in as many meetings with the transplanted Firebirds. If only they could repeal the second quarter!
Milwaukee and Albany (oops, Indiana) played to a 7-Up tie in the first quarter. But the tide went low on the Mustangs in the second quarter, as they were outscored, 24-7. The Firebirds held a 31-14 lead at halftime! But Milwaukee can come back from a deficit, right?
Well, as a listener on WGLB 100.1 FM “Retro Radio,” I had to wait. The second half was put on tape delay broadcast to—get this—cover a live remote at a fireworks display! “Retro Radio,” I found out, is really awful ‘70’s music. You know things aren’t going to go well on this night. And like the Packers of the ‘70’s, the Mustangs struggled mightily.
Not that the Mustangs gave up. They matched the Firebirds’ 14 points in the third quarter. However, when you’re behind, trading scores is treading water. You get nowhere fast.
The Mustangs did outscore the Firebirds in the fourth quarter, 21-14. But when the deficit is 17 to begin with, you still end up 10 points down at the conclusion of the game, 59-49 — and an 0-7 record all-time against the ‘Birds.
Ten dropped passes—many in critical situations—and 11 penalties contributed to the Mustangs downfall as perhaps any post-season hopes harbored by Milwaukee vanished.
The Mustangs at least proved that their offensive showing in week two was a fluke as they scored more points in the first 11 minutes of this game (7) than they scored the entire first meeting of the year with the Firebirds (6).
Next week Milwaukee hosts the resurgent Detroit Fury, who have already beaten them once this year. Milwaukee hopes to get back into the win column and score their first victory over the Fury.
If the playoffs started today: Milwaukee would not be in, ranking 18 among the 19 teams. Mathematically they are still alive—only the New Jersey Gladiators are eliminated at this point. However, one more loss will likely make elimination official. Should the Mustangs win their remaining games and sneak into the playoffs, they would be the second nine-loss team to make the playoffs. The 11-14 seeds are currently held by LA, Chicago, Toronto, and New York, all with 5-6 records. Should any two teams win in the coming week, the Mustangs would be eliminated, as Milwaukee cannot win more than 5 games.
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.
