Rattlers’ secret is in the Snake Pit
Fan presence gives Arizona edge, even when they’re not at ‘home’
On a simmering hot afternoon in Chandler, days after the Arizona Rattlers beat the Nebraska Danger in a 62-45 to reach the Indoor Football League championship game, offensive lineman Lamar Mady said he continues to feel the influence of what he calls “the 9th man.”
With Rattlers fans inspiring the team to overcome a season’s worth of adversity, Mady can’t help but feel a connection to them.
The championship game on July 13 at Gila River Arena in Glendale will be a rematch of the 2017 United Bowl between the Rattlers and the Sioux Falls Storm.
With the home team’s temporary switch from Talking Stick Resort Arena as an example, overcoming adversity has brought the Rattlers to season’s end without a loss and the chance to win it all.
Downtown’s Talking Stick Resort Arena is known by fans as the “Snake Pit.”
But due to multiple conflicts, the Rattlers have taken their 2019 postseason to Glendale. But, it wasn’t their first trip across the valley. The Rattlers lost a forgetful championship game to the Philadelphia Soul in 2016 at Gila River Arena.
Arizona changed that narrative with its performance against the Danger last week in its first time playing at Gila River Arena since that loss in Arena
Bowl XXIX.
Mady was a part of that Rattlers team in 2016 and said fans eased their return to Gila River Arena.
“Rattlers fans are one of kind, with us and travelling with us,” Mady said. “When they come to the arena, a lot of teams are affected by that.”
Rattlers running back Roland Genesy Jr. continued the fan praise saying, “the Snake Pit is going to be the same, regardless of where it’s at.”
The travelling “Snake Pit” might make the Rattlers feel at home, but there are some things out of the fans’ control.
First, it was the receivers corps when Dezmond Epps left the Rattlers to join the AFL’s Washington Valor. In addition to other changes at skilled positions, the injury bug spread like a virus.
Defensive end Joshua Gordon was placed on injured reserve in early mid March. Then, starting quarterback Verlon Reed Jr. suffered a knee injury against the Storm two weeks later, which ended his 2019 campaign.
“This year, from my perspective — compared to all the other teams, we’ve been able to handle a lot of adversity when it comes to injuries and us having to be out here in this heat,” Mady said. “As far as will, we have a lot of that. When things happened — a quarterback goes down and new ones come in — we’ve been able to adjust.”
According to head coach Kevin Guy, the concern is an emotional hangover from the semifinal. Guy believes detail and discipline in front of a home crowd will be all the motivation his team needs. Pressure is not a factor.
“There’s only going to be pressure if you let it be,” Genesy said. “But if you’re ready, you won’t feel any pressure.”
2019 United Bowl