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Former SaberCat QB Ron Lopez Faces Life-Threatening Opponent

by John Hahn
February 26, 2007 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
San Jose SaberCats


There was one thing that just couldn't escape my mind a week ago. It was remembering a strapping big fellow who played for the San Jose SaberCats and the defunct Portland Forest Dragons in 1998 and 1999, respectively.

When this gentleman grasped my hand with a firm grip and shook it with authority, there was a feeling many of us realize in the world of sport. It was the hand of a leader; the hand of a guy who could direct your team to the Promised Land of wins.

Then I saw Ron Lopez in full football regalia. Tall, wide shouldered and commanding. He always looked bigger than his 6-foot-5, 230-pound frame portrayed. He was the epitome of the quaint essential quarterback. Ever so confident, ever so strong with that air of cockiness that every good signal caller has in his walk and talk.

After an 8-year AFL career, Ron had thrown for 11,784 yards and 187 touchdowns. He had decided to settle down in the city he last played in, Oklahoma City. Landing here after the Forest Dragons moved from the Rose City and became the Wranglers.

LEAVES THE GAME AFTER CAROLINA

The story doesn't end there. It only begins. Following a last-ditch attempt to play the game, Ron, at 32, played in one game for the Carolina Cobras (2003) in Raleigh, but was injured and came home. Being hurt many times and playing hurt is common among AFL quarterbacks, who endure the pain of the turf and blind hits regularly, and Ron was no different.

He decided enough was enough. Leaving the game he so loved behind was difficult. He had struggled after two descents, but up and down seasons with the Wranglers. The biggest thing he was tormented by splitting playing time with Jeff Loots in Oklahoma. Being hurt was no fun either and he sat out the 2002 season.

No injury or competition is any greater today for Ron Lopez. He is fighting not for victories on the field, but he is fighting for his life. For months, Ron had been struggling with a new pain. He said he had hurt for a longtime and then he went "yellow" and his wife, Brandee, of six years, finally convinced him to see a doctor.

As a car salesman on a commission only basis, the Los Angeles native had done well. But not well enough to afford health insurance. Ron had been in the AFL before the Players Association had been built, so he knew the consequences of no guarantees. Without that built in protection for you and your family, you run naked rolling the dice.

FINALLY AGREES TO SEE PHYSICIAN

Lopez finally agreed to see a physician. Doctor's diagnoses aren't always certain, just like making a call at the line of scrimmage. When it was decided to remove his gall bladder, Ron had no choice. He just wanted the pain to go away.

When the gall blander was removed, the surgeons found more than what they bargained for. Ron had cancer. It was a rare form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma cancer. And he had reached a level 4, which isn't a good sign. "I guess each case is different," said Ron with a strong but raspy voice. "This was a strange type and there is a recovery of 30 to 40 percent. I'm just going to have to leave it up to the man upstairs."

Brandee knows it will take medication, chemotherapy and prayers. But she is upbeat, always smiling. She has to for the sake of Ron and little Ronnie, who is now 4 years old. "It has spread throughout his body and bones," she says. "But we are hoping this chemotherapy will do the job."

Ron wants to go back to work. "I get tired and have to shut down," he said, "I feel better now than when I went in (to the hospital) and I'm just hoping the Chemo can knock this down." He had been working at a local car dealership and had worked his way up to a floor managers position. "I was doing real well in and I think I will be strong enough to go back. I have to be careful because the body is not able to fight off germs."

LOPEZ RESCUED SEVERAL AFL TEAMS

All you need to do is point Ron in the direction of a project and he will find a way to be successful with it. Like his quarterbacking. He was always one to come in and rescue a team from the dregs of losing.

After an illustrious two-year career at Utah State University (1990-91) where he still is ranked in the top 10 in five categories, he eventually ventured into the AFL in 1995 with the Iowa Barnstormers. He didn't play much in two seasons in Des Moines and ended up in Anaheim in 1997.

It was the southern California Piranhas who had the likes of John Kaleo, James Guidry and Mark Grieb, currently the SaberCats quarterback. Kaleo now is with the Tampa Bay Storm and Guidry is the player Ron replaced after James sustained a career-ending injury in San Jose in 1999.

Despite only a four-game stay in Anaheim, Ron impressed enough people who thought he had the potential to be an outstanding signal caller in the Arena game. The in 1997, San Jose was struggling with two virtual unknowns in Cree Morris and Jared Brown under center. That's when he got a call from Jim Walsh, then the offensive coordinator of the SaberCats, and Terry Malley, the general manager, that the team needed some help.

SAN JOSE OFFERS RON ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY

"He became a starter and played well," Malley said of Ron whose 7-5 record got the SaberCats into the playoffs. "Ron had a competitive nature about him and was tough minded. He also was a very strong leader for us." Under Ron's tutelage, the 'Cats put together a string of four wins, two of which were with the team he would join in 1999.

Portland came calling the following year after Guidry was hurt at San Jose in the third game of the season. Two more losses backed up the Forest Dragons to 1-4, but then against the Florida Bobcats - his second game with Portland - Ron threw four touchdown passes and ran for another in a 48-37 win in front of Oronde Gadsden, who went to the Miami Dolphins following the 1998 season with the Rose City organization.

Ron led Portland to a 6-3 record and the team finished 7-7 with a chance to get into the playoffs. However, the fire breather's flame was extinguished when the "Arizona rule" was instituted and Portland sat weeping along the sidelines, despite a big 55-35 win at the Rattlers cage to end the season. That game ended with Lopez throwing six TD passes, three to the diminutive Kenyatta Morgan.

At Oklahoma, Ron had his best years statistically, even though his best pass rating came at San Jose (106.12) in 1998. Of his total career yards and touchdowns, he had 5,367 and 90 scores during his two seasons with the Wranglers. The team wasn't successful, but Ron did all he could to propel the team.

CALLED A GREAT LEADER BY TEAMMATES

"It seems like I was always coming to a team that needed help," he said. "That's been the model of my career."

In fact, remembers Chuck Reed, a lineman who played with Ron in Anaheim, Portland and Oklahoma, "He was a leader whom I went to very much for advice. Ron and I had some great times together. He's a very courageous man."

One of the most memorable moments for both Ron and Chuck was a play the Wranglers had rarely run. It was against the travelin' Houston ThunderBears at a neutral site in Lubbock, Texas. "That was called 'a tight end drag' and Chuck was supposed to go straight ahead," said Ron with a laugh. "He actually went across the grain and I found him open." The play covered 45 yards and it was the longest play in Reed's career.

Why Lopez has been successful is because of his personality, his drive and his direction. "Saving a team has been the model of my career," he said. "I've always felt myself above average. The difference is trying to get the best out of everyone around."

Ron sure has done that. Getting the best out of everyone now comes back around to getting help from his family, friends and former teammates. Patrick McGuirk, who played with Ron at San Jose, has been instrumental along with Jim Walsh. They have set up a cancer fund in Ron's name at the Oklahoma Fidelity Bank, at 4035 NW Expressway St., in Oklahoma City, 73116. Call 405-507-3191 for more information.

Ron, now only 36, always has helped others. Now, in the fight for his life, those of us need to support, pray and give to the cause of a man who led us before.

Questions and/or comments regarding this article or any feature column are always welcome. E-mail Hondo at hondo@sanjosesabercats.com.

(The views and opinions of this writer are not necessarily those of the San Jose SaberCats organization.)



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from February 26, 2007


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