A Shot at Redemption

May I introduce you to the Bossier-Shreveport BattleWings? They’ve been around for a while now, but it seems you hardly know them. This team plays arena football, an exciting spring and summer sports alternative, but the team hasn’t really been embraced by the community. Maybe this is the year things change. 2006 could be the Wings’ breakout season.
For five seasons, various versions of this team have trotted out onto the CenturyTel Center turf, longing for your attention. At first, an emphasis was placed on featuring local and regional players. It seemed like a good idea. The team’s original owner, Michael Plaman, turned to a local former NFL player, Pat Tilley, to coach the team. The local fan base, no doubt spoiled by the consistent on-ice success of the hockey team which shares the building, expected a winner. Success on the field, or in the stands, has yet to come. Tilley stuck around for two seasons. His teams won sixteen games and lost 16 games. The 203 season was a disaster. The team had three head coaches, alarming player turnover and just three wins. Plaman bailed out, leaving the team’s reputation in shambles. The games were just no fun to watch.
The outlook is changed with the team’s present owner. Local businessman Dan Newman has turned to a coach with a track record of winning in arena football. John Fourcade, a great college quarterback at Ole Miss, won an Arena Football League championship as quarterback of the Denver Dynamite in 1987. He went on to quarterback the New Orleans Saints, and led them to the playoffs in the late 80’s. He is now a veteran arena football head coach. In 2002, the led the Florida Firecats to the Arena Cup, the AF2’s championship game. After two imminently forgettable seasons under head coach Keith Barefield, the Battle Wings suddenly have a high level of credibility.
Newman has patience, but he wants to win right away. He has suffered a little watching his team struggle for two years. He has traveled around the AFL and AF2 and has seen his share of raucous arenas filled with fervent fans. He imagines such a scene at CenturyTel. This arena football team is an amusing sidelight for Newman, who has built a multi-million dollar business in southeast Shreveport. Don’t think for a moment, though, that he doesn’t care. Newman loves football. He has traveled far and wide, not only with the Wings, but also as part of the Louisiana Tech football broadcast team. He has a lot of experience with sports enterprises teetering tantalizingly on the cusp of something special. By bringing Fourcade to town, he hopes to demonstrate that he’s serious about building a winner.
The early indications are positive. Open tryouts attracted players from across the country. That says a lot, considering these roster spots are part-time and seasonal and pay just a couple of hundred bucks a week. It means there’s hope. The players hope the coach can replicate his earlier success with this game. They hope they can contribute to a winning atmosphere, which will get them noticed at a higher level of football.
The BattleWings will soon begin their sixth season. No football team has lasted that long in our cities. Newman hopes you realize he’s sticking around, and so is his team. He also hopes you’ll get to know them a little better. Maybe you’ll like them better this time.

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