Posted 11:22 pm Monday, March 15, 2010
East Texas Drillers Victorious At Oil Palace
By CHAD THOMAS
Staff Writer
Based on the lopsided 62-24 score, the East Texas Drillers appeared to be a polished, time-tested team that took the arena turf Sunday afternoon.
The fast-paced arena football squad grabbed an early lead and never looked back in obliterating the North Texas Crunch.
Staff Writer
Based on the lopsided 62-24 score, the East Texas Drillers appeared to be a polished, time-tested team that took the arena turf Sunday afternoon.
The fast-paced arena football squad grabbed an early lead and never looked back in obliterating the North Texas Crunch.
Not bad, albeit perhaps surprising, for a team playing its first-ever contest in Tyler and just its second game overall.
About 1,000 fans turned out to cheer for the semi-pro group at the Oil Palace, many of whom stood and chanted “I’m a Drilla” after the home team took the lead in the first quarter.
Tyler residents and friends Jason Mata, 37, and Josh Staples, 32, took in Sunday’s contest to get acquainted with arena football, which plays by its own set of rules, now that the NFL season is over.
Despite the different style of play, Mata said he and his friend came out simply because “it’s football.”
“(We) just want to see somebody get hit,” Staples said.
The pair waited in line at the concession stand that afternoon, looking back at the play on the field as the Drillers expanded their lead to double-digits. Despite a few minor complaints about opening day, Mata and Staples said they’d be back for another Drillers game this season.
“To have something so close, I would definitely go to more stuff like this,” Staples said, “especially if they expand it and make it a little bit more like professional arena football.”
Despite the big win, a few hiccups Sunday, as well as several earlier in the week, made for a less-than-smooth home opener for the Drillers.
Staff still were hustling at 3 p.m. to make sure the field turf and makeshift sidelines were set up for kickoff. At the same time, a line of more than 100 people still was snaking through the front door up to the ticket window.
But at least a crowd showed for the game, team representatives said. The Web site for the Drillers’ league, the Independent Indoor Football Alliance, incorrectly reported that Sunday’s game had been canceled. Team representatives and Oil Palace staff said that bit of false information then was reported by some East Texas news stations.
Oil Palace owner Bobby Manziel said if the game had not been reported as canceled, it “would have been a standing-room-only sellout for sure.”
Heading into Sunday, however, it appeared the 3,876-seat Oil Palace was going to be practically vacant for the Drillers’ home opener. Only 42 tickets had been sold by Saturday night, Manziel said.
That changed dramatically Sunday afternoon, though, when game-time walk-ups bought 814 tickets.
Full-price tickets for adults ran $21 after taxes and fees, something fans said might keep them from attending more than a couple of Drillers games this season, which runs through June.
Those fans included Len Morgan, of Tyler, who brought his 13-year-old son, Myles, and friend, Alex Williams, 14, of Winona. Myles and Alex play football and said Sunday’s arena game was “cool,” but the lack of a running game threw the two for a loop.
Drillers coach and team owner Roger Viser admitted after Sunday’s win that he’s playing a game of catch-up when it comes to creating a fan-friendly environment.
“We got a late start,” said Viser, who, just months ago, was coaching in Houston before starting up the Drillers. “We had a little stagnation.
“I want to be aware of the fans,” he added. “We just needed to get the football part of it going, first.”
The football part of the equation worked out, with a resounding victory. Next weekend, the on-field changes will be tangible, team representatives and Oil Palace staff said.
The Drillers’ dance team, the Derrick Dolls, will perform at halftime and help with promotional events during the game, something that was missing Sunday.
Drillers’ staff also will set up netting in the end zones that serve as arena league goal posts. In Sunday’s game, without netting, both teams were required to try 2-point conversions after every score.
Mata and Staples said they’d like to be able to watch the Drillers with a cold beer in hand, which was not sold during Sunday’s event. Even that change may by the weekend, if the Oil Palace Enterprise Co. receives its proper licensing.
Those minor changes, when combined with winning play, could translate into a big-drawing team for East Texas football fans.
“It’s going to get even better,” Viser said. “We need a couple thousand fans in here to really get it going.”
Despite the different style of play, Mata said he and his friend came out simply because “it’s football.”
“(We) just want to see somebody get hit,” Staples said.
The pair waited in line at the concession stand that afternoon, looking back at the play on the field as the Drillers expanded their lead to double-digits. Despite a few minor complaints about opening day, Mata and Staples said they’d be back for another Drillers game this season.
“To have something so close, I would definitely go to more stuff like this,” Staples said, “especially if they expand it and make it a little bit more like professional arena football.”
Despite the big win, a few hiccups Sunday, as well as several earlier in the week, made for a less-than-smooth home opener for the Drillers.
Staff still were hustling at 3 p.m. to make sure the field turf and makeshift sidelines were set up for kickoff. At the same time, a line of more than 100 people still was snaking through the front door up to the ticket window.
But at least a crowd showed for the game, team representatives said. The Web site for the Drillers’ league, the Independent Indoor Football Alliance, incorrectly reported that Sunday’s game had been canceled. Team representatives and Oil Palace staff said that bit of false information then was reported by some East Texas news stations.
Oil Palace owner Bobby Manziel said if the game had not been reported as canceled, it “would have been a standing-room-only sellout for sure.”
Heading into Sunday, however, it appeared the 3,876-seat Oil Palace was going to be practically vacant for the Drillers’ home opener. Only 42 tickets had been sold by Saturday night, Manziel said.
That changed dramatically Sunday afternoon, though, when game-time walk-ups bought 814 tickets.
Full-price tickets for adults ran $21 after taxes and fees, something fans said might keep them from attending more than a couple of Drillers games this season, which runs through June.
Those fans included Len Morgan, of Tyler, who brought his 13-year-old son, Myles, and friend, Alex Williams, 14, of Winona. Myles and Alex play football and said Sunday’s arena game was “cool,” but the lack of a running game threw the two for a loop.
Drillers coach and team owner Roger Viser admitted after Sunday’s win that he’s playing a game of catch-up when it comes to creating a fan-friendly environment.
“We got a late start,” said Viser, who, just months ago, was coaching in Houston before starting up the Drillers. “We had a little stagnation.
“I want to be aware of the fans,” he added. “We just needed to get the football part of it going, first.”
The football part of the equation worked out, with a resounding victory. Next weekend, the on-field changes will be tangible, team representatives and Oil Palace staff said.
The Drillers’ dance team, the Derrick Dolls, will perform at halftime and help with promotional events during the game, something that was missing Sunday.
Drillers’ staff also will set up netting in the end zones that serve as arena league goal posts. In Sunday’s game, without netting, both teams were required to try 2-point conversions after every score.
Mata and Staples said they’d like to be able to watch the Drillers with a cold beer in hand, which was not sold during Sunday’s event. Even that change may by the weekend, if the Oil Palace Enterprise Co. receives its proper licensing.
Those minor changes, when combined with winning play, could translate into a big-drawing team for East Texas football fans.
“It’s going to get even better,” Viser said. “We need a couple thousand fans in here to really get it going.”
