Farewell for Fleming
Adam Markowitz
Sunday July 9, 2006
Sadly, after 10 seasons, the 14th greatest player in the Arena League history called it quits this week. He walks away from the game in 3rd on the all-time receptions list (846), 5th in receiving yards (10,221), and 4th in receiving TDs (235). Fleming was named to the First Team All-Arena Team four times, the All-Ironman Team four times, won Rookie of the Year in 1997, and won Ironman of the Year in 2004, a season that saw him haul in career bests in receptions (131), receiving yards (1620), and TDs (33). I guess my mother bought his jersey at the right time. Though there was no doubting Fleming’s ability as a player, he is one of the few players to walk away from the AFL with a Super Bowl ring, a ring he earned in Super Bowl XXX with the Dallas Cowboys.
So Close Yet So Far
Yes, the Super Bowl ring is nice. Some say that having one of those is the highest plateau you can possibly stand on as a football player. But Fleming never found success in the league he was most famous for, as he was on the losing end of the Arena Bowl in 2000 and 2001. He gave it one more shot and came back to Orlando for a chance at the elusive Arena Bowl ring this season, but on a day that he never even got the chance to suit up, Fleming and the Predators fell short 69-61. In Arena Bowl XIV, I remember being so much more afraid of Fleming than anyone else on the Kats at the time. Though the Predators held Fleming to just 4 catches, 17 yards, and 1 TD, he scored the two point conversion that completed the 23 point Kats comeback to knot the game at 38. The Predators went on to win the game on the next drive with David Cool’s 19 yard field goal as time expired. Facing another stern test in 2001, the Kats traveled out to Grand Rapids to take on the Rampage for the championship. Once again, the Kats fell short, 64-42.
Memorable Moments
Without a doubt, any AFL fan in the late 90s through the present has a Cory Fleming moment that rings clearly in their heads. Here are the top three moments that stick out in my mind, though there are so many more of them that could easily be listed.
3) 2000: Week 1, Albany @ Nashville: It was the opening game of the 2000 campaign for the Firebirds and Kats, and the game ended up being a showcase between two of the greatest receivers ever to play the game. While Fleming finished the day with 16 catches, 168 yards, and 4 TDs, OS Eddie Brown got the best of him, posting 12 catches, 235 yards, and 7 TDs, to go with an onside kick return for a TD. Until Tyronne Jones’ kick return for a TD with no time left in the game, there were 5 TDs in the 4th quarter, 3 for Fleming and 2 for Brown. It was the 2nd highest scoring game in Kats history, but the Firebirds won the contest 76-65. The game will go down as one of the best duels between wide receivers in AFL history.
2) 2004: Week 17, Orlando @ Los Angeles: The Predators needed a victory against Tony Graziani, Chris Jackson, and the high powered Los Angeles Avengers in the last week of the regular season to assure that they would be in the playoffs. With the Predators trailing 41-37 with 12:02 left in the game, Fleming took over. He scored the TD to put the Preds ahead 43-41, then stopped the Avengers with tackles on 1st and 3rd down to hold LA to a field goal. Having dropped a catch he perhaps should have made on 3rd down and 4 that would have given the Preds’ a new set of downs, he atoned by making an even bigger catch, a 13 yard TD strike from then rookie, Joe Hamilton on 4th down to put the Preds on top with just 39 seconds remaining. Though LA regained the lead, it was Fleming once again, who made a catch and got out of bounds with just 1 second left on the clock, just enough time to give K Jason Wells time to boot through a 30 yard field goal that put the Predators in the post-season. Fleming finished the game with 13 catches, 158 yards, and 2 TDs.
1) 2006: Week 3, Nashville @ Chicago: Isn’t it ironic? Perhaps the greatest play Cory Fleming was ever involved in, he never found his way onto the scoring sheet for! The Kats found themselves trailing by 7 in the dying seconds against the hosting Rush. QB Clint Stoerner hooked up with Fleming, who ran down the sidelines and pitched the ball perfectly to Cornelius Bonner, who took the ball the remaining 30 yards for the game-tying score. Though the Kats went on to lose the game and Fleming had a pedestrian 6 catches for 76 yards and no scores on the day, the hook that he provided for Bonner’s ladder went down as the 2nd greatest play of the 2006 season.
Thanks for the Memories, Cory
Though we all knew and loved the Cory Fleming on the field, it is a shame that not everyone got to meet the Cory Fleming off the field. In Fleming’s first game back as a Predator in this postseason, Preds fans were treated to an absolute gift. He got one of the loudest ovations I’ve heard a Predator player given in quite some time when he was introduced and had one of the longest lines for autographs I’ve ever seen when the game was over. Though the rest of the players were already long into the locker room, Fleming stayed out on the field the entire 20 minutes allotted for autographs, and then another 20 or 30 minutes signing each and every person’s shirt, hat, ball, program, or whatever else they wanted him to sign. He also took pictures with each and every person that asked. When all of that was completed, I was standing behind him with my microphone, attempting to get an interview. I didn’t exactly know what to except, short of someone who was tired and wanted to go get changed after such an emotional game and the mob of fans that he just interacted with. But to my surprise, he stuck around another 10 minutes with no one else around and allowed me to interview him. I’m not with NBC. I’m not a member of the radio media. I’m not a member of a local television network. I’m not a beat writer for a newspaper. I didn’t even have a full season credential on. I’m a kid. I’m a 21 year old kid with a microphone, just trying to print a story on a website on one of the game’s greats. He could have respectfully declined the interview and I would have thought nothing of it. But he stayed and chatted, and wanted to chat even more when I was finished asking questions.
Why? Because that’s the type of guy that Cory Fleming is. You’re one of the good ones, Cory. You never forgot that this is a game for the fans beyond all else, and I hope that goes along with your legacy as one of the greatest receivers ever to play the game. We’re going to miss you, Cory.
Adam Markowitz is an accountant living in Orlando. Adam is an old school AFLer, having followed the AFL since 1991. He attended or covered well over 200 games, including 17 ArenaBowls. Adam worked for the Arena Football League for two years as a columnist and historian before retiring in 2017 when the 50-yard indoor war left the Sunshine State. Adam still muses about the AFL on ArenaFan from time to time, and you can follow him on Twitter @adammarkowitzea.