Gamblers

USAFL Nationals 2007

          Your Las Vegas Gamblers took 12 players to the 2007 USAFL National
Championships in Louisville, Kentucky to attempt to win back to back division III
titles. Being short on numbers, Las Vegas combined with New York’s extras to
round out a 16a-side squad. The grounds left some to be desired but the
weather made the day perfect to have a kick.
       One of the challenges of playing with a combined team is gelling quickly to
make an impact immediately. Not knowing the players or their capabilities, we
didn’t have the opportunity to mess it up with a tough test waiting in our first
match against a good Florida side. Since we had not played much together, our
whole focus for the tournament was to emphasize our game and what we could
control. We committed to winning the first tap, getting the first kick, kicking the
first goal and asserting command of the game quickly. The guys did just that.
This game was played with quite a bit of finesse as the mid fielders controlled
everything, the forward lines were always on the move and the half backers were
free to float a kick out. Vegas cruised to victory winning 12.4.76 to FL 1.5.11.
       The second game of the day staked the 1-0 Gamblers in rematch against
the KC Power. The Gamblers were victorious against them in the regular season
but the teams lining up at nationals were very different. Again we established the
goal of winning the first contest, kicking the first goal and establishing ourselves
again. This was another finesse game where the experience of our midfield shut
down any attack from Kansas City. The zone defense proved to be too much for
the Power who struggled to kick into it. Vegas had a comfortable lead at the half
but were upset by kicking more behinds than goals. The second half was played
more cleanly with six goals being kicked to go along with two behinds. Final
score: Vegas 11.9.75 to KC 1.0.6.
       That wrapped up day one with no significant injuries except to Jeff “Hostel”
Karvenz, whose loss would come back to bite us in the final.
       Day two pitted our toughest matchup in pool play against the Baton Rouge
Tigers. These guys played hardnosed physical footy. This was going to be a
difficult match because the Tigers would be seeking revenge for losing in the
finals to Vegas at last year’s nationals. The Tigers gave Vegas fits by their good
marking ability and Vegas inability to accurately control the footy with short
kicking. The Tigers actually went up on Vegas for a while before the boys gritted
through it to pull out the victory. Vegas finally settled in and slowed down to gain
control and got over the top where they stayed for the remainder of the game.
Final score Vegas 5.4.34 to BTR 4.1.25.
       Going 3 and 0 assured us a spot in the Div III final again. This year’s
opponent was a great St. Louis team who had a good resume knocking off
several Div II teams during the regular season. At some point every team has a
game where nothing seems to go your way and Vegas was probably due. The
whole game, it seemed as if every bounce went right to STL and every kick of
theirs rolled through the goal line. Every kick of ours stopped just shy of the goal
line and many of our kicks were marked in the goal square. The field we played
on was bigger than what we had played on before and we struggled with our
zone defense being too loose in it. Additionally, STL resolved to drop extra
defenders back which made finding space on the forward lines tough. Despite
the rough going, Vegas went into the half only down 7. The second half sported
more of the same JuJu as the wind STL enjoyed in the first half, died in the
second half for us. The injuries piled up in the second half as Miah suffered a
broken ankle and Norm took a shot in the ribs. Still our boys fought. We never
gave up. We never got negative. We played with heart the entire forty minutes.
We possessed the ball just as much as STL but just couldn’t get things to go our
way. In the end it was Vegas 2.4.16 to STL 4.7.31 and being down 15 to a
quality team like STL is nothing to hang your head about.
       All in all, this team continually responded to the challenges laid before them
and played with the heart that is the identity of the Las Vegas Gamblers. I was
most impressed with how even in adversity and loss the team stayed positive
and encouraging with each other. I am proud to be a part of this team more than
any other team or sport I have played in my life. The boys are moving on from
the disappointing title loss and on to improving the club to contend with the
dynasty teams of the West.
       Congrats to Marty for winning two Revolution awards and to Greeny for
winning Most Consistent in Div III. Thanks to Dave for coaching again. Thanks to
our supporters and water runners who seldom get the credit they deserve and
thanks to New York for giving us guys to make another run at the Div III title. And
finally congrats to STL and thanks to KC, BTR, FL and STL for a great weekend
of footy.