Not your Daddy’s war on I-4
Jason Lucas
Saturday April 14, 2007
In the last three meetings the Predators have outscored the Storm 168-101, including a 52-27 drubbing in Tampa Bay in week one of this season. A game that was televised on both cities local Brighthouse channels. This is the same series that in the mid to late 1990s saw ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, and then NBC as recent as two years ago. Once again, Saturday’s game will be broadcast exclusively on the local Brighthouse networks channels (21 in Orlando; 47 in Tampa Bay).
In 41 previous meetings it is very hard to believe there is something new that could be accomplished in this series, but here is the dubious one the Storm are trying to avoid. Being swept in back-to-back seasons, suffering four straight losses has never happened to either team in this series. A Preds victory Saturday would be the first time ever a team has claimed four straight victories in the War on I-4.
Back in 1993 this was the game that set the league attendance record in a June 19 meeting that drew 28,745 to the old Thunderdome in St. Petersburg, FL. At the time it was a rematch of the 1992 semi-finals. The Predators won that game 46-45 as Storm quarterback Jay Gruden could not complete the two-point conversion in the final moments.
Last year’s sell out in Orlando on April 22 was the first time a War on I-4 has sold out since the infamous “Pizza Gate” game in which Preds owner Wil Meris promised a large Papa John’s pizza to all ticket holders if the Preds were to lose on June 27, 1997. The Preds would win that game 54-30 and all was well in the Jungle. Meris avoided a bill of over $82,000 with the victory.
When I was a kid growing up, this was the game everyone was at and it was understood the game would sell out in just a few hours after tickets went on sale. These days, it is just not the same. There is no hatred between the players as there once was in the height of the series, you do not have Perry Moss against Tim Marcum anymore. In these years of free agency and 100 thousand dollar contracts this series has really suffered.
What in the name of Barry Wagner is going on in this series when two of the best QB’s in Storm history are both wearing black and red these days? Speaking of Wagner, we saw him play in a scrimmage with the Storm in training camp; never thought I would see the day. Then again, surely Storm fans thought the same about Gruden and Shane Stafford.
To digress on the teams, free agency, and salaries. Some of this was brought onto me the second I decided to go to a Storm game when they were not playing the Predators. Yours truly is not the only one guilty of having tons of mutual respect for the opposition. Many Storm fans are friends with Preds fans these days and that is just how it is as opposed to the old school thinking of “you are wearing blue, I hate you”, and vice versa.
Now onto business, Saturday’s match-up just got very even when the Predators found out that wide receiver Jimmy Fryzel is not going to be able to play this week. The Preds brought in former Tampa Bay Buccaneer J.R. Russell and sent Charles Lee packing. DeAndrew Rubin still has a ways to go before his broken arm heals and he can play.
There was a time this season the Predators were so deep at receiver most of us just could not see how Clif Dell would ever see the field this season. Well, here he is dressing up in week seven for the second time this season.
The Predators are coming off of two straight losses including a road loss to the New Orleans VooDoo that head coach Jay Gruden called “A gift”, in a recent conversation. The Predators most definitely have all the pieces in place to be one of the best teams in the league. It is just a matter of having them all healthy at the same time and starting with the first play of week two when offensive linemen Jim Sodano went down with a knee injury, the Preds have been hit with an onslaught of injuries.
Everyone saw the kind of stellar play the Preds are capable of in the week one match-up when they torched the Storm for 52 points. Since then the highest output of the offense was 49 points against the Dallas Desperados in a Monday night shootout where that was not nearly enough points to win.
On the east side things seem like they can not get any worse, while on the west side things are just beginning to look up for the Storm. Last week Tampa Bay got their first victory of the season when they overtook the VooDoo 66-43 in front of their home fans. Quarterback Stoney Case had his best game since taking over for John Kaleo and it seems like Lawrence Samuels drinks from the fountain of youth more and more every season.
The Storm has finally found a kicker with Seth Marler who made all nine of his extra point attempts and his one field goal attempt last week. Head Coach Tim Marcum has to be smiling ear to ear over that one. The Preds kicker Jay Taylor struggled hitting his field goals last time out so for once this could actually be an advantage for the Storm.
One thing is definitely for sure in this particular War on I-4. It is the best chance the Storm has had to beat the Predators since the beginning of the 2006 season. The Predators know they are a good team, but they have yet to show anyone a consistently good team due to injuries. The Storm are a vastly improved team now that Kaleo is sitting on the bench helping to call the plays instead of being the one who tries to run them.
On Saturday night in the Jungle one of two things are going to happen. The Predators will lose in front of their home fans; drop to 1-3 at home and 2-4 overall with a tough schedule ahead; or the Preds will beat the Storm and begin a stretch where they will recover from their early season woes to become a more consistent team.
Jason Lucas is a part-time freelance writer based in the Orlando, Florida area. A former director of media relations with the Orlando Predators, Jason is making his return to Arenafan.com after a short stint as a public relations assistant with the UFL‘s Florida Tuskers in 2010. Lucas has followed the AFL since 1992 and began covering the Predators for Arenafan during the 2004 season. He held that position until being picked up by the Preds front office after the 2007 season. Jason‘s knowledge of arena football and love of the game is what drives him to continue covering the sport.