Pulling back the curtain
Behind the scenes at Orlando’s home opener
Terrell Buckley had been in his share of locker rooms as a football player, but as he toured Camping World Stadium on the eve of the Orlando Guardians home opener he couldn’t help but be taken back.
On the wall above a row of lockers was a “Smart, Fast and Fearless” sign. It’s a mantra the Hall of Famer instilled when hired as head coach last year.
“Look at this place and how it’s set up,” said Buckley. “What better place to get your first win?”
After opening the XFL season in Houston on Feb. 18, the Guardians were making their first trip to Orlando, where they will play their home games. The team was searching for its first win when it hosted the San Antonio Brahmas in a Sunday afternoon matchup.
But a travel delay pushed their walkthrough at the stadium back an hour.
Upon arrival, the Guardians were given a tour of the field and their home locker rooms, with many players posed for photographs with their nameplates. For linebacker Terrance Plummer, a Jacksonville native who played at UCF, it was an unforgettable experience.
“It’s been a long time coming for these last three years and I’m happy to be back in Orlando,” he said.
The arrival
The late arrival has Patrick Austin, the Guardians’ director of operations, scrambling to adjust.
He’s already been on the phone with Buckley about changes he wants to make to the team schedule while also working to find additional hotel rooms for innumerable family and friends. To complicate things, a scheduling change has split the team’s hotel rooms and meeting rooms into two separate buildings, creating an unforeseen 10-minute walk.
Several players decked out in Guardians gear begin the trek to the training room, but along the way they’re stopped by a young boy who shyly states, “Good luck with your game.” The players smile and thank him, drawing a gleeful response.
Guardians athletic trainer Rachel Sharpe greets players as they enter a conference room converted into the training/treatment room.
A low hum perpetrates the air as a handful of players lay on training tables receiving treatment. Some are decked in thigh-high compression boots while others are hooked up to electric stimulus for muscles. Most are on their phones, listening to music or checking social media.
Sharpe’s staff consists of a fulltime trainer who travels with her and the team, a seasonal assistant and a student trainer. Most injuries are bumps and bruises, focusing on ankle sprains or knee pain.
The team’s dining room is a flurry of activity as hotel employees work to set up a buffet meal.
Several players are seated at a table playing cards or on their phones while waiting for the go-ahead to eat. A few minutes later, it’s announced they can eat and a line quickly forms with players filling their plates with everything from fried chicken, macaroni, green beans, fruit and salad.
Buckley enters and grabs a plate of food before sitting down with coaches at a separate table. He announces the team will host chapel after dinner if anyone is interested.
Standing guard
A trickle of players and coaches make their way into a darkened hotel conference room which serves as a makeshift chapel. They’re greeted by Clint Purvis, who served as the team chaplain for Florida State football. He instructs everyone to take a prayer card and, if they choose, a brown plastic wrist bracelet adorned with the words “I Believe” and “Jesus.”
Purvis made the nearly fourhour drive from Tallahassee at the behest of Buckley.
This is the first time the team has hosted chapel and Buckley opens up by sharing how his friendship with Purvis began when he played for the Seminoles. He speaks passionately about finding Jesus in 1989 and being baptized a decade later.
Purvis steps forward, and for about 20 minutes he preaches about the difference between being a winner and a champion. He talks about the impact of the correct attitude — the attitude of gratitude, the attitude of the mind and the attitude of sacrifice.
His words cut through the silence as many attendees nod their heads while others listen intently.
As the sermon ends with a collective “Amen,” more players enter the room, quickly transforming it into a team meeting room.
“It was powerful,” Buckley said of the moment. “A lot of young men got something out of it.”
It’s Buckley’s turn to preach to the team, this time about football. For the next 15 minutes, the firstyear coach discusses the importance of Sunday’s home opener at Camping World Stadium.
“It’s about competing,” he says. “Finish and play for 60 minutes. Be fearless tomorrow. Don’t let fear hold you back.”
Buckley leads the room in a team chant, “Orlando Guardians. Stand guard!”
A group of players and coaches remain behind as assistant coach Lamar Thomas leads a special teams meeting.
Video clips from the Brahmas’ first game against the St. Louis Battlehawks pop up on a large screen at the front of the room. Coaches bark instructions using a green laser pointer to highlight certain plays.
“Get your hands up” a coach says when discussing defending against field goals. “You’ve got to be ready. We want to be aggressive.”
Buckley sits in the back of the room, occasionally adding his opinions on certain plays.
After about 25 minutes, players and coaches split up to take part in the separate offensive and defensive meetings.
As offensive coordinator Robert Ford showcases what Orlando wants to accomplish against the
Brahmas, more highlights appear on the screen. Much of the game plan has already been implemented during the week of meetings and practices at the team’s training facility in Arlington, Texas.
The meeting breaks into smaller meetings between position groups.
Quarterbacks Paxton Lynch, Deondre Francois and Quinten Dormady gather around quarterbacks coach Shane Matthews, who has drawn a few plays on a hotel notepad. These meetings only last a few minutes before everyone breaks away to enjoy the rest of their evening before the team bed checks at 10:30 p.m.
“Everything about it was great except for us. We appreciate it, and the players and I appreciate it. We want to want to come back and do some good.”
— Coach Buckley on the loss to San Antonio
Gameday
Two buses arrive at Camping World Stadium three hours before Sunday’s kickoff.
Members of the Guardians disembark and make their way to the locker room. While most are decked out in white and green workout gear, several players are sporting black T-shirts featuring a photo collage of Buckley from his Florida State days.
The stadium is abuzz with activity as staff, volunteers and the ESPN television crew make final adjustments before the start of the game. As players take the field for pregame warmups, they stop to mingle with a group of VIPs on the sidelines, posing for the occasional photo or signing an autograph.
XFL owner and chairwoman Dany Garcia and XFL President Russ Brandon stop to visit with officials and players. The moment wasn’t lost on Garcia, who lives in Central Florida.
“To see this happen in a town that you love when it’s your hometown ... I love Orlando so deeply and to be a part of what’s happening here and adding to this community, it’s spectacular,” said Garcia.
Despite a strong start, Orlando lost to San Antonio, 30-12, in front of an announced crowd of 12,011. Afterward, players and coaches mingled with family and friends outside the team locker room before boarding the team buses to head to the airport before flying back to Texas.
“Everything about it was great except for us,” Buckley said. “We appreciate it, and the players and I appreciate it. We want to want to come back and do some good.”
The Guardians will get another chance to make good March 11, their next home game, vs. Houston.