Steamwheelers: Fully Re-loaded
Gary Stibolt
Friday March 30, 2007
The wait is over and af2 2007 is underway. The Quad City Steamwheelers enter the newborn season as one of the premiere and original franchises that launched in 2000. Among today's af2 franchises, only a handful exist that were part of that inaugural year: They are Arkansas, Birmingham (Alabama), Quad City, Tennessee Valley (DNP 2005), and Tulsa. Year after year, these franchises have defied the odds of the economic landscape and have been a solid franchise despite all of them having changed ownership groups along the way. The Steamwheelers were the last to do so and they are the focus of this piece.
When 2000 started, Jim Foster, founder of Arena Football, had his AFL team in Des Moines (Iowa Barnstormers) and he introduced the Quad Cities to Arena Football with the creation of arenafootball2. The Quad City Steamwheelers won the first two ArenaCup championships at a time when only a couple of teams really understood the sport and as a result, dominated the league. Quad City went 37-1 those first two years and for various reasons, their flight in heaven came crashing down to earth and with them, the fans that had been introduced to winning and physical dominance that had been unparallel in professional sports since the 1971 Miami Dolphins and/or the Michael Jordan era of Chicago Bulls basketball.
While the coaches and players have come and gone, there were a few that remained longer than most players stay in the af2. Guys like Josh Fourdyce (2000-2004) or Craig Strickland (2001-2006) played the game about as long as one could for the salary the af2 affords its' players. Linemen are here for an average of two years and they are gone. Players either move up or move on with life. For the fans, it is a real treat to have guys return from the previous year. It is those few players who create identity with the team for their fans. While the Steamwheelers have had their tenured fan favorites, such as Josh Fourdyce, the one thing that was missing was the dominance they enjoyed in 2000 and 2001...until now that is.
The Steamwheelers have always been a competitive team and considered the premier franchise in the league. Despite not ever winning a playoff game since 2001, they have had some great seasons which have dwindled into some not-so-great seasons of late. In 2002, the team was sanctioned from competing in the playoffs and still ended up 10-6 that would have given them a playoff berth. They followed that up with a 14-2 season in 2003 winning 14 straight only to lose to Arkansas in the second round of the playoffs (Quad City had a bye in the first round). In 2004, the Steamwheelers ended up 10-6 with another playoff appearance only to lose to Louisville. In 2005, the team struggled and made the playoffs but lost to Rio Grande Valley in the first round. In 2006, Quad City suffered its' worst season at 7-9 and missed the playoffs all together.
The point here is not to give everyone a history lesson on the Steamwheelers but to demonstrate how Steamwheelers football has been caught up in a vortex where the expectations of winning has been met head on with the hardships of losing. The team looked like it was heading in the wrong direction the past few years with the struggles of surviving financially as a franchise and the lack of dominating football performances on the field despite excellent recruiting. In 2006, the hiring of Sean Ponder as an offensive coordinator proved that coaching does make a difference if you were to compare the teams offensive performance from the year before.
This year, the Steamwheelers have cleaned out both barrels of their proverbial football shotgun and have reloaded them. In one barrel, you have a new ownership group that is creative with integrity and is persistent in delivering a new brand of Steamwheelers football. In the other barrel, you have a new head coach and an entire coaching staff that has more championship rings and pro bowl all-stars than any other coaching staff in Steamwheelers history if not the entire af2. On the eve of the 2007 season, there is more talk about Steamwheelers football in the local community than what we've had since 2003.
The recruiting that Coach Ponder and Troy Biladeau have done is about the best you can do. It's not perfect but given the new rule changes, it is close and winning will tell the tale of what feels like a Cinderella season. To go along with the new energy and anticipated physical dominance of the team this year, is the improved fan related services and the effort to re-brand the Quad City Steamwheelers.
To press upon that point of a new era in Steamwheelers football, the team will debut a new look on the field as well. Gone are the gold pants with the paddleboat wheel emblem on the side. Also gone, are the pipe and flame jerseys. It's true the jerseys were different last year in that regard, but they remained a solid blue or white with the corporate logo on the front. This year, the team will sport a blue home jersey and their road white one, but they have a red and gold thin-paneled stripe that goes from one shoulder, down the side, around the back, and up the other side to the opposite shoulder. That will match the white pants with the same type of red and gold stripe with the red panel stripe widening and then tapering off while winding down the leg to the base of the knee. Their helmets will remain gold, with a blue face mask, and the recognizable steam pipes and flames that drape across the top to the base of the helmet.
The new uniforms is perhaps the final phase to introduce in the re-branding effort of the Quad City Steamwheelers. That along with all of the preseason excitement of fan events, an exhibition game, and a new flavor of Steamwheelers in the community, the organization as a whole appears to be fully "Re" loaded and ready to hit 2007 with full steam ahead.
This Week's Calendar:
Saturday - March 31 - Fan Road Trip - Cincinnati, OH - Season Opener
Monday - April 2 - Fan Film Session with Coach Ponder at Penguins Comedy Club - 6PM
Wednesday - April 4 - Team Dinner (TBD)
