4th and Loud (Episode 4): The Demise Has Begun

Manny Nunez
Wednesday September 3, 2014

Have you ever been so caught up with something, you tend to forget the reason what you were trying to prove in the first place? You listen to all the hype and all the glamour, but in the back of your mind, what you are really doing is hurting your sole purpose and accomplishments.

If you have been following the 4th and Loud series throughout the first month, and if you have been all over the LA KISS throughout the entire season, it becomes more and more apparent that two sides had become more distant. Business and pleasure were dealt with in separate scenarios. While the owners and the KISS band were soaking in all the attention after their marvelous performance they had in their inaugural opener, wide receiver Donovan Morgan and the rest of the football team were very displeased. Sure a 44-34 win over the Portland Thunder was a big deal, raising the KISS record to 2-1, a lot of concern had risen about how much the business cared about the team compared to their behind-the-scenes antics.

Morgan expressed his opinion on the air after the victory, showing his concern with how the team has been treated. While Brett Bouchy and the owners expressed their concerns, they refused to consider their call. Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley were also a bit at awe with his words, saying how much of a “cancer” he may become to the team.

As much as both sides were trying to work each other out, the demise had begun, and it started off violently. A close loss to the then undefeated Cleveland Gladiators showed that the owners began to lose trust in their product. After that game, the owners and McMillen had discussed any possible changes that the team had to focus on, and the first name that came up was quarterback J.J. Raterink. His performance that game was nothing short of abysmal, and although the game was a lot closer than a lot of critics had expected, a lot of the blame had come on the quarterback.

It was confirmed about Raterink's style of play after the Iowa Barnstormers embarrassed them on national television, putting up only six points in the first half and were eventually torn into pieces. Aside from Raterink, more emotion came from Morgan, where right after the game he expressed his displeasure to everyone in the locker room.

Trust was lost well after the game with Bouchy, McMillen, and the rest of the owners and staff right after the game. Both sides became more distant when the owners had decided to eventually intervene with the team, thinking about releasing and adding players to the team. McMillen showed he felt as if the team he had was solid enough to at least do some damage throughout the season. The meeting ended in dismay.

Of course, no story that involves the KISS can't be missing without a little love story, which may explain how much their kicker had struggled midway through the season. While Kenny Spencer brought his girlfriend and child to Los Angeles to continue his pursuit to play football, he suddenly falls in love with one of the cheerleaders on the team. In the game against San Jose, while at the same event she sang the national anthem, he missed three extra points in the first half before being benched. The owners did find out, which led to private meetings between Spencer and the cheerleader separately in a negative way.

Every sequence in the 4th episode begins to unravel how much the season began to fall apart. You begin to see two sides clash in the worst possible way. Coaches are irate while the owners are showing how displeased they are and want to act fast. If you think things have already been bad enough and love to see yelling and screaming, this would be the time to begin to follow the show.