[08.25.04]
Written by: Bob Pinter

For the Love of the Game, Part 7
Second Puck Bowl Finalist Falls

[08.25.04] (Somewhere in Hawaii) -- David Carr couldn't believe it. This was supposed to be HIS year. This was supposed to be the part where he made good on his promise to lead the Seattle Slimy Slugs to Puck Bowl glory once again. This was the part where he was supposed to make runningback LaDanian Tomlinson glad he had asked Carr to join the Slugs and desert his former team, the Detroit Drive.

But as Carr watched as his pass fell into the hands of a Rhode Island Ridicule defender, then go from Peyton Manning to Terrell Owens in the end zone, 50 yards away, he wondered how he could have lost so much so quickly.

In this second-round game of the PWFFL's informal summer tournament, Carr started off looking like Seattle's Golden Boy. His passes to Tim Brown and Randy Moss were crisp, and he was making several in a row. He began to mix up the offense like a veteran, letting Tomlinson ground out yards in between throws. Then he would find his two deadliest weapons, Isaac Bruce and Marvin Harrison, letting them run down the field and catch whatever Carr would throw at them.

But something always seemed to go wrong. Carr and the Slugs couldn't convert on third down on their first possession, forcing John Hall to kick a chip-shot field goal for three points instead of seven. And now this.

Besides, Rhode Island quarterback Peyton Manning wasn't making things easy either. He'd already thrown a 60-yard touchdown to tight end Alge Crumpler, and his slow, plodding style of offense was putting the Slugs defense to sleep.

"Is he always like this?" Carr asked Tomlinson, who did have a touchdown run to his credit.

"Yeah," the runningback replied. "I mean, look where it got them two years ago, they won the whole thing. But last year, people caught on. Now, it's gotten even worse. He slows the tempo down to the point where it's almost embarrassing to call US the Slugs."

Carr chuckled, but it hid tension. He had to prove his way onto this team, which had gone for years without a true leader. He wanted to be that leader.

He came out after halftime like a man who had found new purpose. Trailing 20-10, he connected with Brown on two short routes, then threw three straight completions to Bruce, Tomlinson, and Harrison, all in a row.

But an incomplete on third down brought Hall back onto the field. Carr took off his helmet, disgusted, and watched his kicker miss a 45-yard field goal attempt.

"Relax, man," Harrison told him. "Just keep throwing the ball and we'll catch it."

But on the other sideline, the Ridicule defense watched Manning do just that. He softly tossed passes to five different receivers at a snail's pace, but it seemed to work. Ike Hilliard caught a 27-yarder in the end zone in the fourth quarter to put Rhode Island ahead, 27-10.

"You think you've got any left in the tank?" Harrison asked Carr.

"Just get open," the signal-caller replied, "and I'll get it to you."

And he did. Carr brought the Slugs to the Rhode Island 22 on three straight completions to the PWFFL's best receiver. But things turned upside down again, as Carr would be sacked on second down.

"This will NOT happen again," he told his teammates in the huddle. "You two," he gestured, pointing to Harrison and Bruce. "Look for it."

Carr continued to drive down the field, hitting Bruce with a 20-yard pass before connecting with Harrison on the touchdown.

"I think I'm going to like playing with this kid," Harrison smiled.

With time running out, the Slugs had one last chance. Hall lined up for an onside kick.

"You guys ready?" he asked aloud. "We NEED this."

Hall's kick skittered along the ground, but too far away for the Slugs to pick it up. Rhode Island recovered, and put a nail in Seattle's coffin with a last-second field goal.

Game Over.

And just like that, the two teams that had faced each other in the Puck Bowl a year ago, were sitting on the sidelines for good.

But while players in Kalamazoo were making quick exits, Seattle saw signs of a bright future.

"Come on! Detroit! Rocko! Your next!