The temptation, as you wind through the heart of South Omaha on the way to the Kroc Center, is to look for the cameras.
The Omaha Nighthawks? That’s a movie, right?
Where’s Gene Hackman? Keanu Reeves? Nick Nolte? Is Burt Reynolds still doing these things?
No, this is no football flick. But it’s a heck of a story. Starring Jeff Jagodzinski as a former college head coach and NFL offensive coordinator trying to get his career back on its feet. Jeff Garcia and Ahman Green as former Pro Bowl players looking for one more shot on an NFL field. And Maurice Clarett as the wayward running back who needed a judge’s permission to try out with Omaha.
It has a “The Replacements’’ meets “The Longest Yard’’ feel to it.
Until you watch these guys line up and practice. These are nobody’s replacements.
“Anybody who thinks four-time Pro Bowl players are scrubs doesn’t know what he’s talking about,’’ Jagodzinski said.
Nobody knew what this was going to be like when the United Football League circus came to town. And that leads us to the fictional part of this story.
We thought they might get former Huskers like Joe Ganz to sign up. Instead, they roll out two former Pro Bowlers, including an Omaha legend who happens to be Green Bay’s all-time leading rusher.
They have made Omaha a conversation topic in the middle of NFL training camps. Garcia, whose cell phone could get buzzed by an NFL team any day now, was on ESPN Radio’s “Mike and Mike in the Morning’’ show last week, talking about the Nighthawks. If Clarett, who reportedly is in shape, can make the team, a flurry of national media will make the club’s Sept. 24 opener at Rosenblatt Stadium.
We also thought that the Nighthawks would get a nice shot of community support early. But who knew that there would be more than 8,000 fans who had to have season tickets by Aug. 23? Nobody.
These people are taking the town — a college town, mind you — by storm. And they’re doing it smack in the middle of a little hurricane we like to call Nebraska football preseason.
It’s a phenomenon, to be sure. Omaha is slow to embrace minor-league stuff. The UFL has little history. It consists of five teams. Sure, there are NFL types on every roster, but the Omaha Royals have had big-league players coming through Omaha for years. The Omaha Knights a few years ago were practically the Calgary Flames in Knight jerseys. They left town.
The easy answer is, it’s football. I always hear people ask if Omaha could be an NFL town. No, because we’re too cheap. But clearly there is a pro football passion here. There is a curiosity, too. This is the hot new restaurant or bar. And putting Garcia and Green on the menu early didn’t hurt.
Still, 8,000 season tickets to watch players who may or may not ever make the NFL again?
It’s exceeded even the UFL’s expectations. But there is one fellow who’s not surprised. Mike’l Severe, the football nut on KOZN’s “Unsportsmanlike Conduct,’’ was all in on the UFL from day one. I thought Severe was just nuts. He was adamant: This is a good thing, good football, and Omaha is going to take to it.
“A space opened up for something other than the Huskers,’’ Severe said. “I think there’s a lot of money, and advertising, that was ready for something like this. You’ve got 19 guys on the roster that started in the league, had seasons in the league. People like to go to new stuff, too. But people in this town love football.’’
The question is, what kind of football is it? NFL Lite? A notch above the AFL? What?
“These are good football players,’’ Jagodzinski said. “One thing or another kept them out of the league. Maybe they got hurt, went to the wrong system, fell victim to a numbers game, whatever. They’re all right there.’’
Severe added, “There are guys who are done NFL-wise and aren’t going to get another chance, but they still love to play. There are guys who had an injury or got in trouble or didn’t work hard enough when they were there (NFL).
“A couple things happened to help this league. The AFL basically went under; it’s not what it was. You have the NFL with the labor issues coming up, so NFL front offices are cutting back, not only on the field but in their front office, too. So you have a guy like Rick Mueller (Omaha GM, former New Orleans Saints vice president of player personnel), who ordinarily wouldn’t be available.’’
You would expect this to be a league that won’t hold back. There are too many players, and coaches, looking to use the UFL as a statement and make an NFL roster in late November for a playoff push. That’s one reason Garcia signed with the Nighthawks rather than join an NFL camp as a backup; he wants to show that he can still play. Same with Jay Moore, the former Nebraska defensive end, who turned down training camp invites to play in Omaha this fall.
For years, college football has been called the NFL’s “farm system.’’ Maybe we’re witnessing the beginning of a new farm system. Or maybe this is the hot sports bar that won’t be open three years from now.
Whatever it is, it’s going to be interesting and a whole lot of fun to find out.
Contact the writer:
444-1025, tom.shatel@owh.com
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
