The Indians are slipping and sliding (during a rain delay)
August 13, 2014Rex Grossman doesn’t make Brian Hoyer expendable
August 13, 2014[Editor’s Note: Jay Butcher is a long time reader and friend of WFNY. Jay grew up in Brunswick watching the Indians & Browns and is a big Cleveland sports fan in general. He currently lives in Olmsted Falls and is a Browns and Gladiators season ticket holder. You can find him on Twitter @butcher98]
Hey Cleveland, you have a team playing for a championship! No it’s not the Browns, Indians or Cavaliers (yet). It’s our very own Cleveland Gladiators of the Arena Football League.
Here’s a little background on the AFL. Known as the ’50-yard indoor war’, it is fast-paced and high-scoring eight-on-eight indoor football. A typical offensive set has the QB, three WRs (one may be running toward the line of scrimmage before the ball is snapped), and four offensive linemen with one declaring himself a tight end1. There are not very many running plays called in a game, maybe three or four, with the bulk of them called at the goal line. On defense, there are three linemen, two LBs (only one of which allowed to blitz) and three DBs. The Gladiators averaged 55.1 ppg this season on their way to a league-best 17-1 record.
The games are non-stop excitement. The goal posts are only 9 feet wide in the AFL, with the nets extending 30-feet wide on each side and 32-feet high. Any time the ball bounces off the net, it is in play. It’s not uncommon to see a pass tipped into the net and be intercepted. On kickoffs, they kick the ball off the nets the majority of the time, hoping for an awkward bounce or a bobble by the return man. If tackled in the end zone, the team starts on the 5 yard line.
The Gladiators are in a division with 3 other teams. Those teams are the Philadelphia Soul, the Iowa Barnstormers, and the main rival is (shockingly, I know!) the Pittsburgh Power.
On May 23 the Gladiators were trailing the Soul by 17 points with under a minute left and ended up winning the game 54-52. The Glads beat the Soul three times this season (including the 1st round of the playoffs) on the last play of the game. Overall the Gladiators won 6 games on the last play of the game this season. The team reminds me of the 90’s Indians. Even when they are down at home you always think there is a chance they can win, and this season they have. The only loss was on the road to Pittsburgh.
The Gladiators are led by quarterback “Stone Cold” Shane Austin from the University of Hawaii, who threw 99 TDs in the regular season. A hard-hitting defensive secondary of Dominic Jones, LaRoche Jackson, and Alvin Jackson. anchors the defense. Marrio Norman was also part of the secondary until he recently signed a contract with the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL. The kicker, Aaron Pettrey (a familiar name to any Buckeye fan), has three game-winning field goals, the biggest of which being the mentioned playoff game.
The Gladiators play at The Q. They averaged 10,600+ fans this season before the playoffs. With tickets starting at $10 and all Friday games including $1 hotdogs and pop while Saturday games include $2 16-ounce draft beers, it’s an affordable night out with the family. There is always music playing in between plays or an on-field game going on during a time out. From the touchdown dance the crowd does to the “YES YES YES” chant that happens after every made extra point, there is always something going on to keep you entertained. Another cool thing is just like a baseball game, if a ball goes into the crowd you get to keep it. At the end of each game they have an on-field party that include autographs and your chance to try to kick a field goal, which is great for the little ones.
I had been to a few games here and there over the past few seasons, but this year I decided to take the plunge and buy season tickets. For my family of three it was a no-brainer. Everyone has fun and the price was right, $270 for ten games next season (we got six games for free this year for committing). The seats aren’t horrible, either, 20 rows off the field. In comparison, my two seats for the Browns cost me $1000 .
I started going to the Gladiators games as a fun night out with the family but quickly became a HUGE fan. They have almost a cult-like following with fans, some who wear gladiator-like face masks while others wear a helmet with red broom bristles attached like a mohawk.
I know the AFL is a niche sport and a championship isn’t going to mean as much to the city of Cleveland as one from the other big three teams would, but on August 23 at 8 pm the Q will be rocking with chants of “YES YES YES”, and hopefully a championship will be won in the city of Cleveland as the Gladiators take on the Arizona Rattlers for the AFL title.
- it’s pretty cool to see a dump off to a big guy and see how far he can rumble [↩]
11 Comments
Good primer on the Gladiators, but you hardly mention the championship game at all! Who are we playing? Who’s good on their team? Are we favored? What aspect of our game gives us the advantage?
Might not hurt to mention the date / time / broadcast details…
“…but on August 23 at 8 pm the Q…”
WIN… so that we can erase the 50 year champion
http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/small-violin.gif
I believe this was really only meant to be a primer, not a full breakdown of the matchups.
Hehe. You know what, if the Gladiators win, yet people are still wasting their time telling everyone else how long it’s been since Cleveland won a championship, I’m going to use that image every single time. 😉
When I heard Gladiators I thought this had something to do with the Gay Games. I’m shocked WFNY hasn’t covered the games!
They are playing the Arizona Rattlers, who will be making their 4th straight Arenabowl appearance, and will be attempting to beat Cleveland for their 3rd straight title win. Arizona set a league record by starting off the season at 14-0. This has been a matchup that has been talked about since early on in the season. I can’t wait for kickoff!
the Gladiator’s count but the Crunch do not? I believe when the Crunch won they were in the most popular USA league for the most popular sport in the world!!!
Ahh yes, the Cleveland Crunch. I readjusted my original post to reflect their championship run. 🙂