It`s a Music City Sweep!
Charliy Nash
Monday August 13, 2001
Back to the Bowl
The mood of the Kats coming out of the tunnel could best be described as confident. “Who’s gonna stop us?” yelled William “Big Nasty” Gaines. “Who’s gonna stop 6 [Tyronne Jones]? Who’s gonna stop 33 [Rupert Grant]?”
The Kats then showed a national audience what a complete game looks like. They scored in the air. They scored on the ground. They scored on defense. They scored on special teams.
Experts said that a high scoring game would favor San Jose. The first half was close, and the game threatened to turn into the “track meet” that the Kats wanted to avoid. And then along came Jones. If Reggie Jackson was baseball’s Mr. October, then Tyronne Jones is the AFL’s Mr. August. His circus catch of a Barry Wagner deflection (reminiscent of the grab by Ben Crosland against Toronto) brought the crowd to its feet. But it was his return of a missed Darren Alcorn field goal to end the first half that shifted the momentum and broke the game open.
When the Kats win the opening coin toss they usually choose to kickoff, getting the ball to open the second half. This was the second straight game to prove the wisdom of that strategy. Jones scored again on the opening drive of the next half, extending a lead that the Kats never relinquished. Nashville’s defense allowed the SaberCats only three points in the third quarter, and 17 in the second half. The San Jose line, under pressure all night, was unable to keep the Kats’ linebackers out of the backfield. Rupert Grant got a sack and two QB hurries; Travis Reece recorded a sack and a safety; and Darryl Hammond had a sack with a forced fumble – which lineman James Baron recovered in the endzone for a touchdown.
“I told you,” said Grant, recalling our conversation earlier in the week. “I told you we had a game plan to get after him [San Jose QB Mark Grieb] all night. Hey, it worked out. We told you that we saw some flaws in the offensive line and wanted to take advantage of that. We wanted to put him out, but he stayed in. He’s a tough quarterback and a great competitor.”
 Some of the Kats Dance Team were already ready for Arenabowl XV Image courtesy of |
Nobody wanted to leave the arena. The ABC broadcast did not begin to capture the celebration. In what might have been the franchise’s last game in Nashville, they achieved their goal of returning to the ArenaBowl. They overcame the worst rash of injuries in team history to earn a shot at the championship.
The excitement was tangible. ArenaBowl hats and t-shirts appeared. I was even hugged by two cheerleaders. For the rest of the story, here are the obligatory post-game quotes:
“We knew it was going to be a fight. They’re a great team. We just decided we were going to play as hard as we can and take it all the way for sixty minutes. We kept saying ‘Sixty minutes’ all week long. We did it.” C.J. McLain (1 sack, 2 tackles)
“It feels great because right now we have a chance to win it. It felt great last year too. We’re real excited. It’s a great feeling. Great feeling.” Kicker Steve McLaughlin
“I could get used to this. I told my wife I could get used to this for three more years. . . It’s great. It’s the way you want to finish a championship game – to get to the championship. I love it. Hopefully this time we can finish the deal though.” Ron Carpenter (kickoff return for TD) playing in his second championship of the year
“We had to have this win. We knew we wanted it. We woke up this morning and everybody was real excited. Hey, this is what we needed right here.” Rupert Grant
“This is a game that I wish I was playing instead of coaching. I would give anything to be in one of those uniforms.” Head coach Pat Sperduto (actually that was before the game)
A Familiar Face
I spent most of the game standing near former Kats lineman and coach Junior Ili. Here is his account of what he’s been up to since leaving the team: “I’m helping a friend start a trucking company on the west coast. He’s based out on the east coast in North Carolina, and he wanted to get a warehouse out on the west coast so I’m helping him do that. It’s giving me an opportunity to spend time with my family. Eventually I’m going to get back into ArenaBall. Hopefully it will be next year, but right now I’m just doing this to spend time with family.”
Let’s Take it Outside
I then went to cover my first NFL game. It was quite a change from the fast pace and intimate confines of the AFL. The most glaring difference wasn’t the size of the field or the number of players, but the constant flow of substitutions and the frequent stopping of the clock.
The first half took 1:35 and there were only 20 points. Instead of being down on the field where players, coaches, team staff, owners, cheerleaders, and even some league people know me by name, I was the new guy in the far corner of the press box.
There were a few Kats connections. One big surprise was an ad in the Titans’ game day program that featured a photo of Kats WR/LB Cory Fleming. The crowd responded enthusiastically when prompted to congratulate the Kats on their victory. I ran into Kats GM Eddie Khayat in the press box, along with Mark McGee from the City Paper and Aaron Solomon from channel 4.
As far as the game itself – hey, this is Arenafan.com – you’ll have to check out my other gig at FootballNetwork.com for that.
Charliy Nash has covered both incarnations of the Nashville Kats, and now has make the 2 hour drive to Huntsville for an Arena Football fix. He also covers the Tennessee Titans as a blogger for nfl.com and still hopes this will eventually lead to a paying gig.
