Ironman Insider: Barry Wagner
Tom Goodhines
Saturday March 25, 2000
The most memorable image that one might have of Wagner is when he was enjoying his first Arena Bowl championship on the turf of the Ice Palace in 1998. In an Elway-like manner, the man who is considered to be the true definition of an Arenaball player captured the one thing that had eluded his sure-handed grasp for six years – a championship ring. “I got the ring, baby! I got the ring!” Wagner shouted after Arena Bowl XII. “I can’t begin to explain all the emotions I was feeling that night,” Wagner recalled. Wagner will have a change of scenery for the upcoming 2000 season, after being traded from Orlando to the New Jersey Red Dogs, but he will be looking for more of the same results.
So how did it all start? How did Wagner get to be so dominant? What are the secrets to his success?
“Secrets?” Wagner said with a chuckle. “I don’t have any secrets. You just can’t be too cocky out there (on the field.) But, you must be confident in your ability and play up to your potential all the time.”
Confidence is something that the 6-3, 220-pound veteran definitely has. He credits gaining that confidence through lessons that he has learned while growing up. “Appearance is important,” Wagner said. “It’s the way you carry yourself while making sure you do the best with what God has given you. That’s what leads you to success.”
God given talent along with a strong work ethic has made “Wags” one of the top performers in his profession year-in and year-out. “Dedication is also very important,” Wagner added. “You must work hard at something if you hope to be the best at it. Since high school, no matter what sport, I’ve wanted to be the best that I could be. You can’t just sit around during the off-season and expect to do well. You have to work on it year-round.”
With tremendous talent, it might have been easy for Wags to become conceited, but it was Barry’s mother, Mary, who helped keep him humble. “My mother really helped my competitive drive,” Wagner said. “Everyone else was saying ‘Barry’s the best,’ she’d respond ‘Yeah, he’s alright.’ She made me strive to do better and work harder.”
Of all of his awards and accolades, Wags is most proud of his 1996 Ironman of the Year Award. Despite suffering a broken leg and missing nearly five games in the ’96 season, Wagner still managed to capture a then unprecedented fifth consecutive Ironman award. The injury came in the third game of the season against the Florida Bobcats. Covering a kickoff, Wagner broke his fibula and tore ankle ligaments. “ ‘Why me? Why did this have to happen to me?’” Wagner recalled. “But I knew that everything happens for a reason. I prayed for strength.”
The doctors gave Wagner two options for recovery; have screws placed in his leg and be finished for the season, or put a cable in his leg and be out for 8 to 10 weeks and have a shot at making it back for the playoffs. Having a strong competitive drive, it was no surprise that Wags opted for the second option – but there were some startling results.
After the first week of the operation, Wagner was on crutches. The second week, he began walking with a limp. The third week, he was walking normal and by the fourth week he was running.
“I told Coach (Perry) Moss that I was ready to play,” Wagner recalled. “He gave me a funny look and had me run a couple of patterns in practice.” Wagner didn’t miss a beat and ran them to perfection and without pain. Upon seeing this and getting the doctors approval, Moss inserted Wagner back into the lineup. “I’ve always been a quick healer and I wanted to prove that I was a true warrior,” Wagner said of the quick recovery. “If I could come back from (this injury), then I could do anything.”
Wagner’s return to the field would come in a hostile environment. The Predators traveled to “The Barn” to take on future NFL MVP Kurt Warner and the Iowa Barnstormers. “(In Iowa) the fans are right on top of you. You walk in there and people are dressed like cows and all different kinds of animals,” Wagner said with a smile. “They have cow bells… they are definitely behind their team 100 percent.”
The Iowa fans gave Wagner the royal “heckle” treatment.
“(Before the game) the fans were yelling at me, ‘Hey Barry, get ready for a long night’ and ‘Hey 82, you’re nothing special.’ They were really on me, but I love that,” Wagner said. “When I go to an opposing arena, I want the fans to hate me and boo. That gets me pumped up.”
Wagner won the hecklers over by scoring three touchdowns in the first half, and began the second half with a 42-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. “The same fans that were harassing me before the game were then bowing and chanting, ‘You’re the Man.’ (The Iowa fans) won my respect that day.”
When the Predators left, Wagner walked away with an AFL single-game record of 435 all-purpose yards. His stat sheet had 15 receptions for 229 yards, 9 kick returns for 205 yards, 4 touchdowns and 5 tackles. He returned a missed field goal 54 yards for a TD and returned a kickoff 42 yards for a TD. Faith healing at its finest!
The close proximity to the fans is one of the things that Wagner thinks the AFL has over the NFL. “I think Arena Football has made me a better person,” Wagner said. “Some players in the NFL are distant from the fans – they don’t remember that the fans are the ones who made the league what it is. If I could have one wish, it would be to take one entire game and go around signing autographs the whole time. I can’t describe the feeling you get when you look around and see the appreciation and the love that the fans have for this game and me as a player.”
Wagner had a couple of opportunities in the NFL, but he said that he is glad that he has his place in the AFL. “I like showing the NFL what they missed out on. I wouldn’t trade my situation for anything,” Wagner said. “If I had it to do again, I would do it the same way. What more could anyone ask for?”
Well, maybe he could start by asking for more room in his trophy case.
CHILDHOOD FAVORITES
Wagner’s favorite team was the Dallas Cowboys when he was younger and his favorite player was Steeler great John Stallworth. “That’s why I wear No. 82. He was the best,” Wagner said. The Ironman also confessed that it was hard to be a Cowboys fan, while his favorite player played for the rival Steelers.
Wagner attended the same college (Alabama A&M) as Stallworth and broke many of his receiving records.
THE NEXT WAGS?
“There are a lot of good players in the league,” Wagner said. “If I had to name a couple, I would say that (Milwaukee’s) Alvin Ashley, (Houston’s) Rodney Blackshear and (Tampa Bay’s) Lawrence Samuels are a few of the guys who play well on both sides of the ball.”
TOUGHEST DEFENDERS
“(Former Tampa Bay Storm star) Johnnie Harris and (Florida’s) Otis Mounds give me the toughest time on defense.” Wagner said. “They are both pretty big and strong and will come up and guard me tight.”
WAGNER VS. BROWN
When Albany’s Eddie Brown came into the league in 1994, many people were quick to pit the two stars against each other. “I didn’t meet (Brown) until our first game against each other,” Wagner recalls. “One of the first plays, he came across the middle and I hit him hard. He told me after the game that he wanted to come at me and see what I had.
“He’ll think twice before he does that again,” Wagner continued. “I really respect Eddie. He’s a great player and we’ve become close friends.”
AFTER HIS PLAYING DAYS
After I am finished playing, I would like to get into coaching,” Wagner said. “Especially in this league, because I know it so well and I think that I can help players make the transition to this game. It is a lot different.”
Tom Goodhines was a writer for ArenaFan Online during the 2000 season.
