Lou Pickney's Online Commentary
Arena Bowl XVII
Sunday
June 22, 2003
4:15 PM. 45 minutes from kickoff of Arena Bowl XVII, and I didn't at all expect to be going (it was a sold out game). My phone rang; the caller ID said it was my friend James. He said he was going to Arena Bowl XVII at the St. Pete Times Forum... and that he had a last-minute style extra ticket. He asked if I wanted to go, and as you might imagine I said yes. The Tampa Bay Storm vs. the Arizona Rattlers for the World Title. Ahhh yeah.
Until today, I'd never been to an Arena Football game before. I'd heard stories in years past about the fun times that friends of mine had at Nashville Kats arena games, and so I was pretty excited about this one.
I decided to ride the Ybor trolley down to the game. While the rain that has drowned the Bay Area in the past week has cooled things down a bit, it's done nothing to curtail the humidity in the area. So I was most annoyed when a kid up front decided to open a window on the air conditioned trolley. The conductor ended up having to turn his fan on as a result -- there's an efficient use of resources. Then there were some kids in the back who were practically shouting their way through a conversation. But instead of admonishing them, or perhaps encouraging them to speak at normal levels, their guardians jabbered back at them in nearly as loud of a tone. Kids will be kids, but where is the adult supervision in these situations?!?
Luckily we made it down to the Ice Palace... er, St. Pete Times Forum, without incident or altercation (thanks to my strong self-control). The trolley left from Ybor at 4:30, but took until 4:52 to arrive at The Forum, which is just a mile and a half from my apartment. But whatever, I made it. James was out front, and he hooked me up with the ticket. All I had to do in exchange was buy him a double-crown-and-coke inside.
Oh, and did I mention that the tickets were THIRD ROW?!? Down on the 10 yard line, which is pretty close to midfield in Arena Football terms.
|  | | On second thought, maybe G-Force's costume is actually more like a mix of Duff Man and pro wrestler La Parka... |
By the time we got inside, they were singing the National Anthem. Our timing was perfect. James and I made it down to our third row seats and settled in. I'd seen a number of AFL (not American Football League) games on TV before, so the layout wasn't altogether unfamiliar to me, but nonetheless I took a few minutes to take in the sights. There was a championship game buzz in the air, for sure. Plus the AFL shipped in the mascots and top cheerleaders from a bunch of the other teams. I have to say that the Georgia Force mascot ("G-Force") looks decidedly similar to Duff Man from The Simpsons.
Seeing the Arena action up-close was pretty intense. Arena Football lacks some of the NFL-style crunches (there was just one sack in the entire game, for example), but there were enough hits to please the fans.
A tackle on a rushing play knocked Tampa Bay Storm QB John Kaleo out of the game in the third quarter. Enter second-string QB Pat O'Hara, who calmly lead the Storm to three touchdowns under his watch (two TD throws to WR Chris Samuels, who was the player of the game, and a rushing TD of his own).
My personal favorite moment of the game was shouting at Arizona Rattlers CB
Ricky Parker in the third quarter. Thanks in part to the massive Icehouse beer I had consumed, I yelled, "Parker, you're about to give up a touchdown!" He looked over for an instant, just as the snap went off. Samuels beat Parker on a cut to the middle, caught a bullet on the run, and took it down to the 3 yard line. Yes, third row at Arena Bowl XVII, close enough to yell at the players and be heard. Good times.
|  | | Who let the drunk bald guy on the field? |
There were some moments of unintentional comedy, though. Like when an extra point kick became stuck in the netting, and the field crew couldn't get it out. They tried throwing balls at it, and then got a second ball stuck up there. They ultimately started the game back up, and finally brought out a ladder at the end of the third quarter (which allowed a worker with a pole to poke out the footballs). Do these things happen at the Super Bowl?
The people in front of James and I were a mixed bag. The couple directly in front were real cool, hooking us up with beads and balloons and what not. Then there was this asshole next to them who accused me of spilling my beer on him (actually it was James, holding his crown and coke high in the air). I pointed this out to James, who started ripping on the guy, making fun of his blonde frosted haircut and calling him a "chihuahua". That had me rolling. Then there was the guy across the aisle from James who caught a football that came into the stands. I gave James the business about not catching it; James later called himself the "White Wilt" (he's 6'6") and promised he'd catch one if it came his way.
The Storm found themselves up by three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and it became clear that the end was near. Arizona rallied, cutting the lead to 2 TDs, but Tampa Bay's defense forced a turnover deep in its zone and
sealed the victory.
|  | | James shows his Tampa Bay Storm spirit with a lovely cheerleader.
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When the clock hit :00, fireworks went off and confetti dropped from the sky in remarkable volume. It was a rather surreal sight. Then, much to my surprise, security unlatched the doors right by where we were and opened the field up to the crowd. James and I were among the first people out there.
I've been on astroturf before (at Vanderbilt Stadium in high school), but that was a long time ago, and it was interesting to feel it again. The players, cheerleaders and coaches were all fair game for the crowd -- again, it was a "You'd never see this at the Super Bowl" experience. But unlike the bush league incident with the stuck football, this was pretty cool. The players were jubilant, as you might imagine, and the crowd shared in the jovial spirits. James luckily had his cell phone camera working, and we snapped some shots amidst the riff-raff.
Overall, it was a tremendous experience. My voice is about shot thanks to the screaming and shouting and what not. But, to be sure, it's something I won't forget anytime soon.
Sleep is on tap now... Tomorrow I hope to have comments on some other things, including the season premiere of Sex & the City (and wow, has that show fallen even further from its first few years) and the
Matt Drudge radio show (including Drudge's hilarious mocking of the flop that was the opening weekend of "From Justin To Kelly").
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