Barry Wagner returns to Orlando
March 2, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
San Jose SaberCats News Release
SAN JOSE, Calif. (Mar. 2, 2005) â On Sunday, Mar. 6, Barry Wagner will return to the place where he made his mark as an Arena Football League legend.
A superstar two-way player with Orlando for eight years (1992-1999), Wagner won six AFL Ironman of the Year awards, two league MVP awards and still holds a remarkable 32 team- records.
In 97 games with the Predators, Wagner rushed for 598 yards and 69 TDs, caught 651 passes for 9,490 yards and 210 TDs, returned 214 kicks for 4,004 yards and made 391 tackles with 29 picks.
However, according to Wagner, going back to Orlando won't be anything special this time around.
"The first time I returned to Orlando it was very emotional and sentimental, but now it's just another game to me. It doesn't feel any different than playing any other team."
Still, that hasn't stopped him from purchasing 250 tickets for friends and family.
Wagner travels back to Orlando with a new title under his beltâthe all-time AFL receptions leader. He didn't have much to say about breaking the record on Feb. 20 at Los Angeles, though.
"Records are meant to be broken," he said. "It doesn't mean anything right now. They aren't important if we don't win."
The only thing that was on Wagner's mind was the SaberCats 71-69 loss to the Avengers, which dropped their record to 1-3 and equaled the worst four-game start of a season in team history.
"We're the defending champions and everybody is coming out hard and trying to play their best game," he said. "For us right now, wins are hard."
While wins and losses are the bottom line in the AFL, what Wagner has achieved during his impressive career is impossible to ignore.
After leaving Orlando in 1999, Wagner joined the SaberCats where he's continued his high-level of play on both sides of the ball. Wagner has set five San Jose records in his six-year tenure with the team, including career rushing TDs and career tackles.
As if this weren't enough, he ranks in the top-five of over 20 categories ranging from offense to defense to special teams in the AFL record books. Of the 20 categories, Wagner leads nine of them including most points (non-kicking) in a career, most receiving yards gained in a career, most rushing touchdowns in a career and most tackles in a career.
With seven receptions against Los Angeles, Wagner (952) surpassed Eddie Brown (949) to become the AFL's all-time receptions leader, adding yet another record to his legendary repertoire.
More important than records, however, his individual performances have helped his teams win. Wagner has won three ArenaBowl titles (1998-Orlando, 2002 and 2004-San Jose), reached another three ArenaBowls and has not missed the playoffs in his 14-year career.
In fact, Wagner has never experienced a losing season and has a 72% winning percentage (144-56) over his career with Orlando and San Jose.
San Jose's 1-3 record is the worst start Wagner has ever experienced, but leave it to the veteran to see the silver lining and think positive about the rest of the season.
"With the bye week, we had time to think about what we can do," he said. "We just need to make a play here and there and stay focused."
So SaberCats fans don't hit the panic button just yet, there's still a lot of season to left to be played.
Wagner and the SaberCats will travel to Orlando to face his former team on Sunday, Mar. 6. The game will air on NBC bright and early at 9:00 a.m. (PT). Fans can also catch the action on KNBR-1050. San Jose returns to HP Pavilion on Friday, Mar. 11 to face Tony Graziani and the Philadelphia Soul.
Individual game tickets for the 2005 season can be purchased through any Northern California TicketMaster outlet, online at www.ticketmaster.com and at the HP Pavilion box office. Season and group tickets are available by contacting a sales representative at (408) 573-5577. More information is also available at www.sanjosesabercats.com.
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 2, 2005
- Potential conference title preview in Big D this Saturday - AFL I
- Race for career TD record heats up in week six - AFL I
- Preds sign Anthony Bright to practice squad - Orlando Predators
- Barry Wagner returns to Orlando - San Jose SaberCats
- Force QB Kubiak out for remainder of the season - Georgia Force
- Kats To Hold Faith and Family Night On March 12 - Nashville Kats
- Crush's Floyd named AFL's Defensive Player of the Week - Colorado Crush
- Rattlers Release Hunkie Cooper - Arizona Rattlers
- AFL on NBC moves to noon kickoff for weeks 6-8 and 10 - AFL I
- Tampa Bay Storm game notes - Tampa Bay Storm
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