Sit-down with a star: run_CMC
1) Many people saw the Outlaws as undeserving of making the playoffs, and a field goal by you put you guys in the playoffs. How do you respond to the people that say the Outlaws "robbed" the Second Line of a spot?
I think anyone saying that needs a bit of a reality check; it's the nature of the game. Our performance proved us the 2nd best team in the ASFC over the course of the whole season, and that means we head to the playoffs. The last game of a season may be the most exciting matchup, but in the end, there were 9 other games New Orleans could've won in to end with a better record than us.
2) Speaking of that field goal, that has to be the biggest moment of your young career. Walk me through what is going through your head before, during, and after the kick.
Actually, leading up to the kick, and during it, I was super calm. You kind of have to be if you're going to be a professional kicker; it's half physical, half mental. So, during the kick it felt routine. Just 33 yards after all. After it goes through the uprights comes the wave of either "aw heck I just screwed us" or "oh thank god I just made that." Thankfully in this case it was the latter of the two!
3) You have made it very clear that you love Arizona and would never leave, but if there was a team that you would want to be at besides Arizona where would it be?
This is a really tough question, because as you say, I love it here in Arizona. If I had to pick... I'd probably say the Second Line. Their general managers, coaches, and players are well known to be just stand-up guys.
4) Despite the Outlaws playoff appearance, this season, they are still clearly a rebuilding team. What are your opinions on the other rebuilding teams?
Opinions on rebuilding teams... well, does opinions on a rebuilding team's kicker count? Micycle McCormick is an awesome dude. I'm hoping to meet up and hang out with him this offseason, do some training and some chilling, cause he's a class act and a great kicker.
377 words
Robbed: Now, this is a change from the norm that I am used to. For the past however many years it seems like I have always been writing about the 3rd place team in the ASFC and how they played in the harder conference and they had the better record but didn't make it. But this year is the opposite. This year I am arguing in favor of the NSFC team that got robbed because of the conferences. The Arizona Outlaws did not deserve to be a playoff team. But not because of the New Orleans Second Line like everyone else is saying. I have made the consistent argument for the robbery of 3rd place teams and it continues. The Hawks had a 7-7 record. While not an amazing record, it is far better than the 5-9 record posted by the Arizona Outlaws. For the same reasoning that I have defended the Outlaws and the SaberCats before in years past, I am now morally obligated to defend the Hawks. Justice for Baltimore. Although they probably wouldn't have won a playoff game, they at least deserved to be in the playoffs more than the Arizona Outlaws did, no offense to them. It is just the reasoning I go by.
That Magic Moment:
This is going to seem like a really cliche moment. Especially because it isn't a moment of actual gameplay. It is instead the winding down of the clock in the Ultimus. The end of the game. The Philadelphia Liberty had commanded the entire game from opening kick to closing seconds. And as the clock ticked down to zero, it symbolized more than a win. One could even say it symbolizes more than just a regular championship. It symbolizes the end of the Otters 3-peat, maybe not their dynasty though. It symbolizes the end of the Oles era, the General Manager not the QB. It also ends one of the great streaks of the league. The ASFC dominance is now over. It took 7 seasons but the NSFC finally got one. After the heartbreak of last season as well, this Liberty team finally got the win they should have gotten last season. And now they stand at the top of the mountain. Which is why I would not be surprised if some of those players out on that field teared up a little bit as the clock wound down. It was more than time, it was the most magic moment of them all.
Unsung Hero:
The Unsung Hero of the Ultimus Game was none other than the same player that was considered the scapegoat of the last one. I am talking about Josh Garden of course. Just a year removed from his blunder that cost his team a championship, Garden knew that he had to make sure that he did not cost his team another. Although he did not have the best receiving game of his career, only 2 receptions for 21 yards, he did have one moment that was very important for this Philadelphia Liberty team. It was the opening kickoff of the game. Garden took all of his pent-up anger and frustration from not just last season, but also from his entire career. The "Garden Curse" talk had finally gotten to be too much for him and he decided to prove them all wrong. He took the opening kickoff all the way to the other side of the field for a 103-yard touchdown on the first play. It set the tone for a game that would be fully controlled by the Liberty, and in my opinion that would not have been able to happen without the work that Garden did on that play.
1) Many people saw the Outlaws as undeserving of making the playoffs, and a field goal by you put you guys in the playoffs. How do you respond to the people that say the Outlaws "robbed" the Second Line of a spot?
I think anyone saying that needs a bit of a reality check; it's the nature of the game. Our performance proved us the 2nd best team in the ASFC over the course of the whole season, and that means we head to the playoffs. The last game of a season may be the most exciting matchup, but in the end, there were 9 other games New Orleans could've won in to end with a better record than us.
2) Speaking of that field goal, that has to be the biggest moment of your young career. Walk me through what is going through your head before, during, and after the kick.
Actually, leading up to the kick, and during it, I was super calm. You kind of have to be if you're going to be a professional kicker; it's half physical, half mental. So, during the kick it felt routine. Just 33 yards after all. After it goes through the uprights comes the wave of either "aw heck I just screwed us" or "oh thank god I just made that." Thankfully in this case it was the latter of the two!
3) You have made it very clear that you love Arizona and would never leave, but if there was a team that you would want to be at besides Arizona where would it be?
This is a really tough question, because as you say, I love it here in Arizona. If I had to pick... I'd probably say the Second Line. Their general managers, coaches, and players are well known to be just stand-up guys.
4) Despite the Outlaws playoff appearance, this season, they are still clearly a rebuilding team. What are your opinions on the other rebuilding teams?
Opinions on rebuilding teams... well, does opinions on a rebuilding team's kicker count? Micycle McCormick is an awesome dude. I'm hoping to meet up and hang out with him this offseason, do some training and some chilling, cause he's a class act and a great kicker.
377 words
Robbed: Now, this is a change from the norm that I am used to. For the past however many years it seems like I have always been writing about the 3rd place team in the ASFC and how they played in the harder conference and they had the better record but didn't make it. But this year is the opposite. This year I am arguing in favor of the NSFC team that got robbed because of the conferences. The Arizona Outlaws did not deserve to be a playoff team. But not because of the New Orleans Second Line like everyone else is saying. I have made the consistent argument for the robbery of 3rd place teams and it continues. The Hawks had a 7-7 record. While not an amazing record, it is far better than the 5-9 record posted by the Arizona Outlaws. For the same reasoning that I have defended the Outlaws and the SaberCats before in years past, I am now morally obligated to defend the Hawks. Justice for Baltimore. Although they probably wouldn't have won a playoff game, they at least deserved to be in the playoffs more than the Arizona Outlaws did, no offense to them. It is just the reasoning I go by.
That Magic Moment:
This is going to seem like a really cliche moment. Especially because it isn't a moment of actual gameplay. It is instead the winding down of the clock in the Ultimus. The end of the game. The Philadelphia Liberty had commanded the entire game from opening kick to closing seconds. And as the clock ticked down to zero, it symbolized more than a win. One could even say it symbolizes more than just a regular championship. It symbolizes the end of the Otters 3-peat, maybe not their dynasty though. It symbolizes the end of the Oles era, the General Manager not the QB. It also ends one of the great streaks of the league. The ASFC dominance is now over. It took 7 seasons but the NSFC finally got one. After the heartbreak of last season as well, this Liberty team finally got the win they should have gotten last season. And now they stand at the top of the mountain. Which is why I would not be surprised if some of those players out on that field teared up a little bit as the clock wound down. It was more than time, it was the most magic moment of them all.
Unsung Hero:
The Unsung Hero of the Ultimus Game was none other than the same player that was considered the scapegoat of the last one. I am talking about Josh Garden of course. Just a year removed from his blunder that cost his team a championship, Garden knew that he had to make sure that he did not cost his team another. Although he did not have the best receiving game of his career, only 2 receptions for 21 yards, he did have one moment that was very important for this Philadelphia Liberty team. It was the opening kickoff of the game. Garden took all of his pent-up anger and frustration from not just last season, but also from his entire career. The "Garden Curse" talk had finally gotten to be too much for him and he decided to prove them all wrong. He took the opening kickoff all the way to the other side of the field for a 103-yard touchdown on the first play. It set the tone for a game that would be fully controlled by the Liberty, and in my opinion that would not have been able to happen without the work that Garden did on that play.
![[Image: asandoval03x.png?width=400&height=250]](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/319945672310784010/432413316082696194/asandoval03x.png?width=400&height=250)
