Fan Blog

Litaker's Fan Blog: Week 14 - 2009 SIFL Postseason Round #1

2009 SIFL Postseason, Round #1
by Steve Litaker

A new season is upon us. After the seeding, regular season records don’t count, season stats don’t matter.  All four of the teams start with an 0-0 record, and when the dust settles the only thing that matters is the “W”.  The winners this week move into the first ever SIFL Championship game and the losers start preparing for 2010.

Game 1 of the playoffs kick off at 6:30 this Saturday in Austin, Texas just like the first ever SIFL regular season game, and against the same team. The #2 seed Austin Turfcats will host the #3 seed Acadiana Mudbugs.  The T-Cats are looking to make a small adjustment for this one though, that would be a victory.

If you recall, the Mudbugs came into the Expo Center and handed Austin their first loss in franchise history.  The T-Cats were not very impressive on offense, they turned the ball over too many times, and ended up on the wrong end of a 37-29 game.  How did the Turfcats respond to losing their inaugural game?  They held their heads high, said it’s only one game and went to work fixing their mistakes and improving in all aspects of play.  The didn’t lose another home game all year and finished the regular season with a 5-1 home record including a 56-53 victory against the Swashbucklers in week four which many had said was impossible.

The road games went pretty well for Austin also where they went 4-1, their only road loss was to the Swashbucklers 60-43 after jumping out to an early lead and fading in the second half.  They did avenge their only home loss by beating the MudBugs on the road 50-40 to even the series between the two teams.

How do these teams measure up today?  Austin enters the playoffs riding a 4 game winning streak and totally dominated their final game.  They’ve got momentum in their favor along with the Home crowd behind them.  Acadiana on the other hand was 6-5 and lost on the road last week to the Houma Conquerors 40-28.

We can look at this several different ways.  The MudBugs were already locked into the #3 seed and knew no matter the outcome of the game that they were headed to Austin for Round 1 of the Playoffs.  Were they resting players or just not focused and looking ahead?  Either way it would seem they are headed to Austin desperate while the TurfCats  should be confident.

Don’t confuse confidence with arrogance.  They know desperate teams can be dangerous, they also know without focus and execution the underdog can sneak up and bite you as Houma did to the MudBugs last week. You can believe they respect their opponent and will enter the arena ready for a battle and play a full 60 minutes without looking ahead.

The fans need to help though, if everyone brings just one friend to the game with them, it’ll be a great turnout.  Come early and be loud, we need to fill the arena with excitement and electricity so that it engulfs the field.  Let’s make the players and coaching staff as proud to play in Austin as we are proud of what they’ve given us this season.  It also wouldn’t hurt to say a little Prayer for the Houma Conquerors as they head to Lake Charles this week. And don’t forget, for those unable to make it out to the Expo center Saturday night the game will be streamed live over the Net at http://www.turfcats.com/

Game 2 will be in Lake Charles on Monday night starting at 7:00 where the #1 Seed Louisiana Swashbucklers host the #4 Seed Houma Conquerors. The `Bucs finished the season 10-1, their only loss was to the Turfcats and they’re riding a home win streak that dates almost back to the days of leather helmets.  Houma ended up 3-8 but did post a huge upset last week that put them into the #4 Seed.  Did they shoot their wad or do they still have another upset in them that casts memories of the AFL’s  2007 Columbus Destroyers and 2006 Chicago Rush entering the playoffs on a dismal record and a prayer making it to the Championship game, C-Bus lost and the Rush took the trophy.  Just remember, on any given day if the stars align properly underdogs can prevail.

This game will also be streamed live over the Net at  http://www.labucs.com.

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