Arena Sweet Arena

Jeff Sims
Monday April 12, 2010

It felt great to walk into the Allstate Arena on Friday night knowing that I was there to cover an Arena Football game. Seeing the Chicago Rush colored blue seats, an arena football field, and the nets at each end brought a feeling that I wasn’t sure if I would ever feel again.

The last time that had happened was on July 6, 2008 when the Chicago Rush lost in the American Conference semifinal playoff game to the Grand Rapids Rampage just before the league took a one year hiatus in 2009.

“Darn it feels good to be back,” I said to Rush Head Coach Mike Hohensee when I walked on to the field before the game to get reacquainted with some of the players that had been there previously and to meet some of the new members of the team.

“Darn is the best word you’ve got?,” said Hohensee back to me. “I’m so excited that I can use some other words to describe my feelings.”

That was the excitement level around the Chicago Rush and its players as they prepared for their home opener of the season against the Cleveland Gladiators. Rush Linebacker DeJuan Alfonso emerged from the tunnel waving his arms to the crowd at a level of emotion that only he can bring.

It only took the Rush less than a minute to remind the crowd of 8,075 (smaller than what had been the norm previously) what it missed last year. Returning QB Russ Michna found wide receiver Sammie Parker wide open downfield for a 42 yard touchdown.

The ice had been broken. It was one again time to play football.

“It definitely (calmed the nerves),” said Michna. “You have the emotion going and he was so wide open that you don’t want to overthrow him. We were able to get the crowd up right away. It was a lot of fun to do.”

Since the week one win on the road in Iowa, all this team talked about was coming home to play in front of its home crowd once again.

“It was exciting,” Michna said. “We had been talking about it all week and this place is home. It just feels right. I think we might have been a little overexcited early on, but I think we were able to get composed quickly and play a great game.”

Even for the new additions to the team, they knew this was going to be something special.

“We had a great atmosphere here tonight and it was a lot of fun,” said kicker Chris Gould. “I had a little bit of nerves and I think that on my kickoffs you could tell that.”

While the Rush did play a much better game than they did in Iowa, they were able to overcome some errors and their emotions and come out on top with a 59 – 56 win. They sent the home crowd happy when Gould, brother of Chicago Bears kicker Robbie Gould, connected on a 20 yard field goal with five seconds left in the game.

On this night, while the win was important, the return of the game took center stage.

“It’s great to be home,” said Hohensee after the game. “It meant everything. A few months ago, I didn’t even think (the league) was coming back.”

After a little more than a year and a half of uncertainty and only about three months to prepare for the season, the organization had been pressured and working  hard to get everything off the ground and running. There has not been much time to enjoy what had happened so far, until Friday night.

“We haven’t had much of a chance to enjoy it because it has been so much work, but I am starting to now,” said Hohensee. “I am starting to appreciate my players for who they are and we’re having fun.”

And the players also appreciate playing for this organization and for its loyal fans.

“I love the fans here and I love this arena,” said Michna with a big smile on his face. “There is just something about it. It’s got that dark feeling, but it just feels like something special here and you just don’t get that in other arenas. I love it here.”

Alfonso reiterated those sentiments also. He was enjoying it so much that he continued to sign autographs for fans well after the rest of his teammates had gone back to the locker room.

Arena Football is definitely back in Chicago.

The Kicker Did What???

It was Gould that provided the two biggest sparks of the night to bring the crowd to their feet.

First (and arguably the best play of the night), with just under three and half minutes to play, Gould kicked off and ended up making a hard tackle on Gladiators return specialist Brent Homes that sent him tumbling over and crashing hard to the field. Not only did he save a touchdown, but he was so pumped up about the stop that he did the Ric Flair (Former WWE wrestler) “strut” as he headed off the field.

The crowd went nuts!!!! Only in the AFL can a kicker make a play like that and have fun showing his emotions after doing it. It was hysterical.

“It was a way to step up for the team when they needed me,” said Gould. “I don’t know if it was a momentum shifter, but I just had to be there for the tackle when he broke through.”

The second was the game winning field goal that the team didn’t even think they were going to try.

“A couple of plays before (the kick), (long snapper)Robert Boss got his bell rung and we were having to think of who would snap the ball if we go for the field goal,” said Hohense. “Luckily, Boss was able to come back in and we did it with a snapper that was not all there.”

“That’s my job,” Gould said with confidence. “It is pressure relief to get it off me. All I had to do was step up and make the field goal. Boss and Alfonso made a good snap and a good hold that all I had to do was swing my leg.”