Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - Detroit's Dark Knight: The Des Moines Dragons Reborn

revrew · 11-02-2018, 08:07 AM

Des Moines Dragons: Post-Mortem
Dick Grayson, sports reporter, Des Moines Register

I'm not sure I will ever experience an NFL season like this again.

From the elation of learning the NFL was coming to Iowa, to the contentious controversy over the expansion draft, the dire predictions of gloom, the elation of the very first Dragon game (and victory!), the crushing first home loss, the unforgettable Eagles game … the biggest roller coaster ride in Altoona wasn't at Adventureland, but at Joker Field.

And now, I can't help but feel like a young child at a birthday party whose balloon has just been popped. Nine and seven. One game, one breath, one sliver shy of the most improbable of endings, a playoff run for the expansion, all-Iowa Dragons.

But let us not allow the current deflation to lead us to despair.

The friggin' Dragons won 9 friggin' games, man!

Remember when the pundits said we wouldn't win one? When they laughed at a team made exclusively of "corn-pickers" and "pig (expletive)ers"?

How 'bout dem apples, y'all! This isn't a season for discouragement! This is a season for celebration! An expansion team won NINE games. NINE! And they did it with all … Iowa … players.

Dragons owner Jack Ledger did something astonishing: He put Iowa on the map! And not just for presidential primaries and state fairs on a stick. It was a gutsy, all-on-the-line gamble, and while Ledger didn't exactly hit jackpot, he at least made every head in Vegas and beyond spin like a maple seed in a tornado!

And can you even imagine what this is going to do for recruiting to Iowa's college programs?

Nay, I say put aside the Templeton Rye of despair for another day. This is a day to break out the champagne! NFL football is alive and thriving in Iowa. Who would have ever thought we'd see this day?

11-02-2018, 08:07 AM	#60
revrew Team Chaplain Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Just outside Des Moines, IA	Des Moines Dragons: Post-Mortem Dick Grayson, sports reporter, Des Moines Register I'm not sure I will ever experience an NFL season like this again. From the elation of learning the NFL was coming to Iowa, to the contentious controversy over the expansion draft, the dire predictions of gloom, the elation of the very first Dragon game (and victory!), the crushing first home loss, the unforgettable Eagles game … the biggest roller coaster ride in Altoona wasn't at Adventureland, but at Joker Field. And now, I can't help but feel like a young child at a birthday party whose balloon has just been popped. Nine and seven. One game, one breath, one sliver shy of the most improbable of endings, a playoff run for the expansion, all-Iowa Dragons. But let us not allow the current deflation to lead us to despair. The friggin' Dragons won 9 friggin' games, man! Remember when the pundits said we wouldn't win one? When they laughed at a team made exclusively of "corn-pickers" and "pig (expletive)ers"? How 'bout dem apples, y'all! This isn't a season for discouragement! This is a season for celebration! An expansion team won NINE games. NINE! And they did it with all … Iowa … players. Dragons owner Jack Ledger did something astonishing: He put Iowa on the map! And not just for presidential primaries and state fairs on a stick. It was a gutsy, all-on-the-line gamble, and while Ledger didn't exactly hit jackpot, he at least made every head in Vegas and beyond spin like a maple seed in a tornado! And can you even imagine what this is going to do for recruiting to Iowa's college programs? Nay, I say put aside the Templeton Rye of despair for another day. This is a day to break out the champagne! NFL football is alive and thriving in Iowa. Who would have ever thought we'd see this day? __________________ Winner of 6 FOFC Scribe Awards, including 3 Gold Scribes Founder of the ZFL, 2004 Golden Scribe Dynasty of the Year Now bringing The Des Moines Dragons back to life, and the joke's on YOU, NFL! I came to the Crossroad. I took it. And that has made all the difference.