Much more than a team

Originally published on ArenaFan.com

With 1:42 left in the third quarter it happened.

Manchester Wolves kicker Connor McCormick just made a routine extra point making the score 41-41, but I knew what the extra point really meant.

If you’ve read my articles in the past you already know what I’m getting at, and it’s a simple statistic that has determined the outcome of every Green Bay Blizzard game this season.

Coming into the second-round game with the Wolves, the Blizzard was 12-0 when holding a team to 40 points or less, and 0-5 when allowing 41 points or more.

So, as I sat and glared at the scoreboard in the Resch Center on Saturday night, I realized this was the moment that would determine the story of the Blizzard this season.

The statistic and tempo of the game had me feeling this would be the end to the run at an ArenaCup for the Blizzard, but I also knew this was a team that had come so far in 2008.

This was a team with the No. 1 defense in arenafootball2, which was capable, and often did, shutdown an opponent’s offense.

This was a team that went through three quarterbacks before finding a leader in Collin Drafts, and a playmaker in Gino Guidugli.

This was a team that became only the sixth franchise in af2 history to record 50 sacks in a season, and was led by the lineman of the year Joe Sykes.

This was a team that had the first player in arena football history to score 10 touchdowns and record 10 sacks in ironman Gus Tyson.

This was a team that had the face of the franchise, ‘Superman’ Robert Garth, come back to Green Bay where he belongs.

This was a team that won in my opinion the toughest division in af2 from top to bottom, the Midwest Division.

This was a team that led the af2 with eight players on the All-af2 team.

Lastly, this was a team, but I started to realize in the fourth quarter it was something more than that.

At the end of the game on Saturday night when I watched Wolves quarterback Brian Jones run into the end zone for the two-point conversion, and ultimately the 55-54 win, I knew what the loss meant and began to understand what I was watching all season.

It meant there wouldn’t be a third-straight trip to the American Conference Championship game, and the Blizzard was 0-6 when an opponent scored 41 points or more.

Yes, a simple statistic could tell you the outcome of every Blizzard game this season, but it doesn’t tell you the story of this team.

Because as I leaned against the boards and said my goodbyes to the team I had gotten to know so well, I realized I wasn’t watching a team all season, the 2008 Green Bay Blizzard was a family.

A family that opened its doors for me to be a part of it.

Green Bay welcomes back quarterback

Originally published on ArenaFan.com

You’re probably sick of hearing about Green Bay quarterbacks, but it’s been a popular story for media publications across the country, so why not stick with that theme here at ArenaFan.

Recently a former Green Bay quarterback asked the franchise if he could return to the team after deciding to leave, but was told by management and the head coach that the team had moved on.

But when another former Green Bay signal caller did the same thing a few weeks ago, he got a different response from the team.

Ok, maybe comparing Gino Guidugli to Brett Favre is a bit of a stretch, but when you are in a position to win a championship, a smart franchise would allow the quarterback that gives it the best chance to win play if he wants to.

That’s what the Green Bay Blizzard has done, unlike the team that plays across the street.

Guidugli was the Blizzard’s starter for most of the regular season last year. In his last three starts the offense scored 69, 77 and 74 points, and he had the team in position to win the Midwest Division with a win in the regular season finale against the Mahoning Valley Thunder.

Guidugli never played in the game because the Canadian Football League’s British Columbia Lions signed him.

The Blizzard lost to Mahoning Valley 70-50 without Guidugli, but would win two playoff games before losing in the American Conference championship against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers.

Even in the two-playoff wins, however, you could tell Guidugli’s presence was missed as the Blizzard scored only 39 and 37 points.

This season the Blizzard has relied on a dominating defense, which finished the regular season number one overall in arenafootball2, while the team searched for a signal caller.

Meanwhile, Guidugli was released from the B.C. Lions and signed with the New York Dragons of the Arena Football League to backup Aaron Garcia in the playoffs.

After the eventual ArenaBowl champions, the Philadelphia Soul, knocked the Dragons out of the playoffs Guidugli decided to not sign a deal for next season to be a backup because he felt he could start in the AFL with more experience at the af2 level.

This led him back to Green Bay after he made the call to Blizzard owner Brian Noble, who was happy to welcome him back to compete for the starting job.

Guidugli joined the team with one week left in the regular season, and impressed the coaching staff enough to give him the job over Collin Drafts, who was 6-3 in games that he appeared in.

In the nine games with Drafts at the helm, however, the offense scored 50 points only three times, and lost twice to the Lexington Horsemen by one point.

So, one year after leaving the Blizzard for the CFL, Guidugli found himself back with the Blizzard in the same situation he was in a year ago, a chance to win the Midwest Division by beating the Mahoning Valley Thunder.

Guidugli helped the Blizzard do that by beating the Thunder 61-13, but the Thunder wasn’t the toughest opponent either considering it finished the season 3-13 and its quarterback, Ray Marrow, was making his first af2 start.

The true test to find out if Guidugli could get the Blizzard offense on track came last Friday in the opening round of the af2 playoffs against the Lexington Horsemen.

It’s safe to say Guidugli and the offense passed the test.

Guidugli was 14-of-19 for 206 yards passing for five touchdowns and rushing for another leading the Blizzard to a 65-37 win over the Horsemen.

The Blizzard defense remained dominant as well, collecting a franchise-record 10 sacks.

The Blizzard appears to be peaking at the right time, and with Guidugli back, has a full arsenal of weapons to continue its push for an ArenaCup title.

The Blizzard will host the Manchester Wolves this Saturday at the Resch Center, which is located across the street from Lambeau Field.

When you cross Oneida Street in Green Bay you’ll find a professional football team on each side of the street.

One team is struggling to make a decision about a quarterback because it is more concerned about the future, and another that is trying to win a championship now.