Gladiators: Another Reason for My Girlfriend To Be Embarrassed of Me

In roughly two and a half months, the Cleveland Gladiators will be back on the...turf?...coming off of nearly a two-year haitus after the AFL folded completely. Now playing under arena football's most recent incarnation the AF-1, the team is set to open their season against the Arizona Rattlers April 3rd. The Gladiators' last go-'round resulted in a National Conference Championship loss to John "Slippery When Wet" Bongiovi's Philadelphia Soul, who later went on to defeat Sabercats to win the AFL Championship Title. Sadly, this was the closest Cleveland had been to a national championship since the Cavs were swept by the Spurs in 2007.

In that season, then-coach Mike Wilpolt took the former 2-14 Las Vegas Gladiators and transformed them into the 9-7 championship contenders with guys like Raymond Philyaw (QB), Robert Redd (WR), and Otis Amey (WR). In 2010, they will be led by head coach Steve Thonn featuring the newly-acquired Ben Nelson (WR), former NFL'er E.J. Underwood (DB), Billy Eisenhardt (OL/DL), and Carlos Campbell. I'll level with you, I've never heard of any of these guys before this afternoon and I really have no idea what to expect from a team that was completely overhauled in 2007, made a championship run in 2008, then completely disbanded until only a couple of months ago.


Enter "Arena Football Is A Complete Joke" Quips Here.

Look, I'll be the first to admit that Arena Football is no substitution for "real" football and that the team names sound more like aliases you'd find at the all-male review (i.e. The Shock, Rush, and Iron???). I also understand the legitimacy of the sport is easily challenged due to the number of failed teams accross the country over the years and the overall bankruptcy of the former league. I get all that. But the fact is, if you've never actually taken part in attending a game, you really don't know what you're missing.

The first thing that has to be understood is the game completely different from traditional football: kickoffs and punts bounce off of mesh nets hung behind each goal post; the field is just fifty yards and is the same size of a standard NHL hockey rink; players often play both sides of the ball (offense and defense). I know, it's like a freaking circus act. But the point is, I wouldn't expect anyone to accept the notion that the AF-1 compensates in any way for the NFL or NCAA -- or even for the NBA, MLB or NBA for that matter. But hell, it's not like baseball or hockey have never had their share of locked out seasons that nobody really cared about. Did I just compare arena football to baseball and hockey? Damned right I did. Anyway, arena football is a lot of fun to watch even if you don't take it seriously -- and even in what can be called an expansion Gladiators season, they have a better shot of going deep in the playoffs than the Browns did in 2009. So I say screw it...grab a beer helmet, your favorite Zubaz pants, some dirty Reebok high-tops that have been in your closet since 1992, and a Gladiators t-shirt and join the fun.

Hell, at least it's not soccer.