A weekend at the ArenaBowl

by Fran Stuchbury
June 15, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)

ArenaBowl XIX was the fifth AFL title game I attended. I had never been to Las Vegas and was interested to see how the neutral site ArenaBowl would work.

Thursday I had a safe flight from Philadelphia to Las Vegas. At the airport I met up with some friends - Joe Kauffman, President of ArenaFan, and Orlando Predators team reporter Jason Lucas. They both flew in from Tampa Bay to cover the game.

Joe got his rental car and we drove to the hotel we were staying at, The Stratosphere. We chose that hotel several months ago because it was a nice one with reasonable rates.

That night I spent some time in the casino and lost a couple of bucks playing slot machines. I have never been into gambling so it was just overwhelming seeing people spend tons of time on slot machines and other gambling games, but then again Las Vegas is known for a lot of out of town visitors, so that shouldn't have surprised me.

Friday was media day at the Thomas and Mack Center. The Colorado Crush players were the first to take the field.

I first spoke to Crush WR/LB Andy McCullough. I followed Andy's college career at the University of Tennessee where he played with Indianapolis Colts starting quarterback Peyton Manning. I asked him if he liked playing with Manning.

"He's a great guy, first class," McCullough said. "All the hard work, all the things you see Peyton doing, all the records he has. He had a game plan in college. Every day in practice he was there till 12am. He deservers all the accolades, he's a great guy."

I then spoke to WR/DB Willis Marshall who helped the Grand Rapids Rampage win ArenaBowl XV. I asked him to compare this game to his last ArenaBowl appearance.

"This game seems to be a lot bigger, I think because of the neutral site," responded Marshall. "Being in Grand Rapids and being in a smaller city, it wasn't the glitz and glamour compared to Vegas but at the same time it was still a big game. Right now the magnitude to this game is more important because it's a neutral site, and I'm looking forward to it.

I asked Marshall if he enjoyed being an Ironman in the AFL and his response was: "This game allows me to showcase all my talents, both my defensive and offensive skills. I think because of that, our league has better athletes than the outdoor game just for that reason, we have to play both sides of the ball."

I spoke to Crush kicker Clay Rush and asked him if playing in the thin air in Colorado is a reason for many of his touchbacks.

" I think it's practicing, you still have to hit the ball. There are a lot of guys that come up there and they don't put it over consistently. You have to hit the ball right," said Rush.

I spoke to Crush QB John Dutton who won an ArenaBowl championship with San Jose and asked him if that gives him an edge.

"It gives me the confidence knowing that I can do it," replied Dutton. "I've been to that level and won the big game. It just gives you a little edge, obviously Georgia is going come out with intensity and we are going to have to play some good football.

The Georgia Force then took the field and I spoke to coach Doug Plank who coached in three straight ArenaBowls as the Arizona Rattlers defensive coordinator and asked him if that experience makes him more ready.

" I think it does in this standpoint: in the preparation going into this football game. I know our mindset of our team the last three years. It wasn't that we weren't ready to play that game, we had some other distractions and issues. I think that drew away the attention that our players had for the game. This week I tried to do everything exactly the same as we have all season. I feel that having played in so many playoff games the past three years it will help me in preparation for this game."

I then spoke to WR/LB Chris Jackson who commented on being traded from Grand Rapids during the middle of the season. " It was a blessing. The main thing I wanted to do was make sure that I didn't mess up the chemistry. I think once we realized that the goal was not so much an individual one, but a team goal, and we focused, we are all doing very well right now."

I spoke to QB Matt Nagy who use to play with the New York Dragons. He felt that QB Aaron Garcia helped him develop into a better player.

" Aaron has been great," he said. "I have so much respect for Aaron as a quarterback. How can you not, the guy has so many records in the league and he is such a warrior. I have to give a lot of credit to him for helping me out, he was a mentor for me."

I spoke to AFL Rookie of the Year OS Troy Bergeron, who broke into the game with af2's Columbus Wardogs. " I enjoyed it a lot, being in my home town. I had a lot of family that watched me and had a great season there."

That night I went to cover the "ArenaBattle" at the Orleans Arena. The most exciting display was the kicking contest that Avengers kicker Remy Hamilton won. He hit several balls that went over the nets into the stands. Unfortunately fans were unable to keep those but the league made up for it by tossing many mini AFL footballs into the stands that fans were happy to receive.

I was impressed with the Orleans Arena, a very nice facility. If the Gladiators move or fold down the road, it wouldn't surprise me to see another football league end up there.

Saturday night we had an ArenaFan dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. There were 14 people in two sections eating good food and talking Arena Football. Dave Bennett who drove from Tucson to see the game had several albums of pictures of AFL games that he took. Tim Capper and his friend came all the way from Canada to see the ArenaBowl.

Sunday I went to the Thomas and Mack Center for three hours to meet with fans. The league sponsors had several activities for fans, which were nice, but the "Club Crush Booster Club" stole the show.

They had burgers, hot dogs, chips, and drinks for fans. They even organized several bus trips to get fans from Denver to Las Vegas for the game. Club President Lew Halboth is doing an outstanding job with the fan club.

I told him I might be interested in going to a Crush game next season his response was, "We will pick you up from the airport and make your stay as enjoyable as possible."

That's why I enjoy covering the AFL. Fans from other cities try to make you feel as welcome as possible.

The Crush went on to win ArenaBowl XIX 51-48. Here are my observations.

There may have been around 500 Crush fans that made the trip and they had a presence in the game. Whenever the Crush scored or made a big play you could hear them cheering. When Clay Rush kicked the game winning field goal, they exploded.

Colorado Crush Co-Owner John Elway commented on winning a title as an owner compared to being a player, "It's a totally different gratification. As an owner its my job to put the pieces of the puzzle together and let them go to work."

Elway is also happy to be part of the AFL. " I'm thrilled to death to be part of the Arena Football league. It's amazing to see how far we've come in the last three years. The game keeps growing and attracting new fans. We're building something here and I'm excited to be part of it."

The rounded endzones in Vegas had an effect on both teams. All the touchdowns scored in the first half were running plays. It was the first time since ArenaBowl III no passing touchdowns took place during the first half.

During the post game press conference Force WR/LB Chris Jackson said he had no problem with the neutral site ArenaBowl. The only thing he would change is to play with regulation endzones.

This was the fourth straight ArenaBowl loss for Force coach Doug Plank. " It feels like the ArenaBowl is the last game on the schedule. The feelings that I'm having right now are not very enjoyable. It makes me want to grit my teeth and say I'm coming back next year."

The announced attendance was 10,822, which should have been a little better but the cheapest ticket was 40 bucks and that is a steep price to see a championship game. The Gladiators haven't had the best fan support in Vegas, so it didn't surprise me not to see more fans there.

The league will decide in 30 days whether ArenaBowl XX will be in Vegas in 2006. I think the league will give Vegas one more year. If they move it to another city after one season people may consider the ArenaBowl a failure. They have two one-year options.

One thing Vegas has going for it is that Commissioner David Baker stated that the league made two million dollars with sponsorships and they are very happy about that.

If Vegas gets the ArenaBowl next season I will most likely attend, but for a third season unless the Soul get there, I'm not sure how interested I will be in attending.

The problem with Vegas is the ArenaBowl will never be the big event, as there are too many other things to do there. Going to casinos, shows, etc...

Jim Draucker who flew from Dallas, Texas to see the ArenaBowl feels the same way.

"The game in Vegas was over shadowed by the lime light of Las Vegas. The AFL needs to hype a place where the ArenaBowl is nothing but the center of attention."

I hope the ArenaBowl moves around to different cities like New Orleans, Dallas and Denver. Those cities have better arenas and stronger fan bases so that would help improve attendance.

I've been to ArenaBowls in Tampa Bay, Albany and Arizona. What I missed the most about this game was the interaction with local fans. I had a wonderful time hanging out with the local fans that were pumped up and enthusiastic about the ArenaBowl.

This time around I was with several out of town fans who had no rooting interest on the game. They were simply hoping to see a close game.

Bottom line is its something I will have to get used to because it could be a rarity that a team gets to be at home for the ArenaBowl.

This was beginning of a change that some people are not comfortable with. I'm sure next season the league will do an even better job with activities to make it a better experience for fans. They will figure out what worked and what didn't.

If you have any questions or comments feel free to drop me an email at arenazone@yahoo.com and I will be more than happy to get back to you.

Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from June 15, 2005

• VooDoo re-signs 11 players including Cohen, Kelly and Landry - New Orleans VooDoo
• A weekend at the ArenaBowl - OSC Original by Fran Stuchbury

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.