OSC Game Day: Quad City Steamwheelers

by Derrick Sloboda
Published on June 18, 2003 under arenafootball2 (af2)

Hometown football lives in the Quad Cities as I saw on June 14th in the game between the Quad City Steamwheelers and the Louisville Fire. The Wheelers play at The Mark of the Quad Cities in Moline, Illinois, a beautiful arena located on the banks of the Mississippi River. While I found some aspects of their presentation I would improve, I found the game to be very entertaining and very professionally done because the Steamwheelers do a fantastic job of presenting the Wheelers and the game of Arena football to the fan and the community.

My favorite aspect of attending the contest at The Mark was the fashion in which the Steamwheelers made the game important. The team presented the contest in a way that made me feel as if I was lucky to attend the game because it was so crucial.

Before the player introductions, the arena announcer told the crowd that after a previous game this season in Louisville, Fire head coach Tommy Johnson had said the Fire should have beaten the Wheelers "by 30 or 40 points" if it were not for penalties, a revelation that caused the crowd to rumble.

Just seconds before kickoff, a live interview was conducted with coach Rich Ingold on the field in which he emphasized how important the game was and encouraged the fans to make noise. The arena announcer led the chant of "Go Gooch Go" before each kick-off Steamwheeler player Ira Gooch was back to return. The complimentary full color game program, The Navigator, included team rosters, up to date stats, standings, player profiles, and articles on the team. The radio coverage after the game featured an extensive post game show including an interview with Ingold. All of this informs the fan about the team and strengthens the connection between the fan and the franchise.

The Wheelers have die-hard fans that arrive early. When I got to the arena at 4:00 for the 7:30 game, I parked by the river next to the fans who were tailgating. Inside the arena, the fans were loud and very enthusiastic all game creating a genuine football atmosphere.

After I parked my car, (four dollars in The Mark lot) I headed across the street for the Rockin' on the Riverside pre-game party. The party features a live band and two games for kids, and a restaurant with a nice outside patio. In addition, the Deck Mates, the Steamwheelers' cheerleaders, were walking around, as well as mascot Steamboat Willie. The party is nice, but if you aren't going to eat at the restaurant, you probably won't spend more than 20 minutes at it.

The gathering took place across the street from The Mark on John Deere Commons. Moline has been home to John Deere for more than 150 years and The Commons celebrates the corporation. It is an area which features a hotel, multiple restaurants, a riverwalk, a John Deere store, and a museum named John Deere Pavilion. The Commons is worth the visit if you are making your first trip to The Mark. Just be warned that the Pavilion and John Deere store close at five on Saturdays so plan accordingly.

While I found the presentation to be very professional overall, the player introductions seemed to be lacking. The lights went down, and the mascot came out first on a miniature steamboat. The boat is a quirky touch, but when Willie came out, he really didn't do anything except kill time. The dancers then entered the field, performed and were quasi-introduced. I say quasi because each Deck Mate was named but since they were already out on the field I was lost as to who was who because a spotlight or video board didn't direct my attention on any individual dancer as they were named.

Finally, the players were introduced - no pyrotechnics but some fun stuff. The players entered through the doors of a boat surrounded in multicolored moving lights. Rope lights were on the field that chased back and forth as the players ran on to the field, a unique and exciting touch. Every single Wheeler player was introduced, which I don't like because having over twenty names announced drags on. But this fit in with the rest of the Steamwheelers' emphasis on the team itself so it didn't feel as out of place as it might for other teams.

My major complaint with the introductions was with a garage door, yes a garage door. During the introductions, a large garage door that led to the outside was open and closed multiple times which let a blanket of sunlight into the arena. It was enough light that I could write legibly on my note pad. This defeats the purpose of turning out the lights and detracted from the mood of the introductions.

The rest of the Steamwheeler presentation was very entertaining. Although bearing a resemblance to a cousin of the Milwaukee Brewers Bernie Brewer, Steamboat Willie was great because he was very active the entire game and all over the arena. The in-game promotions had some great prizes including a computer and a car. They were also entertaining, with my favorite being the couple wheelbarrow race in which one partner pushes the other in a wheelbarrow.

Overall, The Mark and John Deere Commons is a fun place to see an Arena Football game.

Extra points:

• Halftime celebrated the U.S. Army's birthday with the largest birthday cake I have ever seen.
• Unless you are tailgating, don't park in the spots right next to the Mississippi River because when you return to your car it will be covered, as I found out, in shad-flies.
• Don't give in to the temptation of buying the five dollar tickets. The view of the near endzone is mostly blocked due to the angle of the seats. Go for the ten dollar tickets in the upper deck.

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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.