Success for the Wranglers, Finally

OPEN IMAGE GALLERY

The Wranglers grabbed their first win of the season last Sunday (Photo courtesy of Carlos San Miguel)

As we entered the stadium and walked toward the field, all that could be heard was cheers of enjoyment and the fans good-natured heckling of opposing players. While walking down the stairs inside the Frank Erwin Center, I noticed people sporting Wranglers' jerseys and kids playing with souvenirs handed out during the first quarter. The beer was flowing and the atmosphere was that of a carnival.

I decided to leave my friends for a bit and head down the players' tunnel to the media room for a snack and to get closer to the field. Once down the tunnel, I noticed a girl putting on a sumo wrestler outfit. I was wondering what was going on when she decided to run onto the field during a time out. The Wranglers' mascot, Trigger, chased after her and pushed her down. Quickly, another sumo wrestler came running from the other end of the field and tried to make it to the other end zone, but Trigger was on top of his game and caught her before she scored. Score: Trigger – 2, Sumo Wrestlers - 0.

With the game tied, right before halftime, the Wranglers had a great opportunity to take the lead with a first-and-goal at the Dorados one-yard line. The coach decided to call four running plays, and the Dorados' defense stuffed them all to take the ball back. As the players walked off the field and past me into the locker room, I could tell there was a level of frustration. At this point, the Wranglers lost their first three games and were not putting many points on the board. Now, they just got stuffed repeatedly from the one.

The last player to walk off was Mel Long, the Wranglers receiver, who has scored three defensive touchdowns as a linebacker this year. Long confirmed their frustrations when I asked him when the next defensive touchdown was coming and he just shrugged and kept his head down. All I could think of was this could be the breaking point in an already bad season if they didn’t come out ready to play in the second half.

I decided to watch the rest of the game from the stands with my friends, and I was also curious how they were enjoying themselves. As I got back to our seats, I noticed one friend was wearing a Austin Wranglers shirt he caught at halftime and they all had beer in hand and were searching through the pregame program. I smiled thinking that the Wranglers might have three new fans.

Newly acquired quarterback Andy Hall quickly answered my concerns with a touchdown pass to Long on the first drive of the second half for Austin to give them a lead they would not relinquish. The Wranglers never let up, scoring several more touchdowns and getting their first win of the season 35-33.

Now, if only Trigger was at linebacker for the first few games, I wonder if the Wranglers would be undefeated? Oh well, a big win none the less, and a great way to spend a Sunday.