Gladiators looking for a few good men

Friday, Jan. 3, 2003 | 9:33 a.m.

Three weeks after discovering that his Arena Football League team would be moving from New Jersey to Las Vegas, coach Frank Haege drove into the Thomas & Mack Center parking lot early Tuesday for his first day on the job.

Haege didn't even get to the arena's front doors before crossing paths with a fan who, with his eight-year-old daughter at his side, had just bought Gladiators season tickets for himself, his wife and two children

The new fan's spiffy yellow, near-antique Trans Am attracted Haege's attention, and Haege guessed that the man was about 40 and likely has a blue-collar job.

"He was real nice, and he wanted to bring his family to the games," Haege said. "They were both pumped. It was pretty neat. Hopefully, there are more fans like that who want to come out and watch some football.

"We are absolutely thrilled to be here. In New Jersey, we were fighting 10 major league sports for attention and fans. So it's great to be here."

Haege (pronounced HAG-eee) said the pleasant conversation, in which he mostly described the nuances, strategies and excitement of the Arena league, lasted for about 10 minutes.

"If he invited me over to the house for dinner," Haege said, "I'd probably go."

Haege will be making a house call of another kind Sunday afternoon, when he hopes some area football players attract more of his attention. He hopes to give the Gladiators a hometown flavor during an open tryout, from noon to 3 p.m., at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Those interested should park at Gate 8 and will be allowed field access through a locker-room facility. Potential Gladiators will be required to be at least 18 years old, sign an injury-liability waiver and pay a registration fee of $50 in cash.

Each participant will receive a Gladiators T-shirt and two ticket vouchers for any home game. Anyone with a player biography or game film may bring them, too, for Haege's staff to peruse.

About 200 have shown to similar events that Haege has staged in the past, but he said he would be very pleased if 100 appear at Sam Boyd.

"We're hoping for some good numbers, to get some interest going and create a buzz, give some guys a look," Haege said. "With more notice and a bigger population, there would be more. But 100 would be a fantastic showing."

The day of drills will feature a 40-yard dash, a 20-yard pro shuttle, a broad jump, a pro L-agility test and then one-on-one workouts on both sides of the ball.

During the season, Arena rosters consist of 24 players, and 20 suit up for the games. Haege wants to fill his four-man practice squad solely with local talent, and he planned to ask UNLV coach John Robinson for some candidates by Saturday.

Thick pads that serve as the 50-yard field's side walls and bear the Gladiators' logo, and rolls of thick rubber mats that will be the floor of the field have already been moved into the south tunnel of the Thomas & Mack Center.

Haege plans to begin practice on Jan. 14 or 15, and he said the odds of someone walking off the street Sunday and becoming a part-time Gladiator weren't that daunting.

"A lot better than winning the lottery," he said, "I guarantee you that."

The quartet that will comprise the practice squad will receive $400 a week, which Haege quickly turned into a positive. Those players will only be required to practice three days a week, for four hours a session.

"Not a bad hourly job," he said.

Make the regular squad and players will earn a minimum of $1,500 a week, with housing or a housing allowance.

Haege admitted that the odds of becoming a contributing factor for the Gladiators would be more challenging. In New Jersey, only one man who took part in one of the team's two such open tryouts developed into a regular player.

Even Haege, however, could not recall that player's name.

"A lineman ... Smith," Haege said. "A red-headed kid out of Boston College."

Those who wind up playing for the Gladiators, in whatever capacity, will be part of a team that, at 9-5, won the East Division of the National Conference last season.

Because of a new television pact with NBC, the start of the season has been moved up a few months to better fill a crucial time slot for the network. The Gladiators open in Los Angeles on Feb. 2, and their first home game is Feb. 17, vs. Tampa Bay at 7 p.m.

Their 16-game schedule consists of other home games against San Jose, Chicago, Georgia, Colorado, Detroit, New York and Buffalo. Next season, the Gladiators will move to the West Division.

Anyone who winds up playing for Haege, 34, will find out quickly how much passion the Gladiators' boss has for football.

He played high school ball for his father, Art, then coached against Art four times in Arena, or its minor-league version af2, games.

The depth of Frank Haege's devotion to football was displayed on Sept. 9, when he married Michele Donovan on an Iowa corn field that was transformed into an Arena football stadium, complete with padded sideboard advertising.

Guests could only gain entrance with official tickets, by Ticketmaster. There were warm-up drills. Bridesmaids wore Gladiators cheerleader uniforms, and the groomsmen wore Gladiators jerseys. The Star-Spangled Banner was played over a loudspeaker atop a telephone pole.

The wedding party entered the field through an huge inflated Gladiators helmet at one end of the field, and a wooden goal post stood at the other end. There were even bare-chested fans who spelled out "F-r-a-n-k-&-M-i-c-h-e-l-l-e." Others did the wave.

Haege is all about fun, whether he's getting married, trying to unearth a hidden gem or two from the surrounding area, or attempting to win a third indoor football championship. He won two at Quad City.

"Really, it's just a lot of fun," he said. "You don't need to be a football fan to enjoy arena ball. You just need to be a fan of fun. It's entertainment with a football. It's hard hitting, and there are a lot of points scored, about 102, every game.

"Guys get hit over the walls, kicks fly over the nets, both teams pass 80 to 90 percent of the time ... you can sit close, and you can meet the players afterward and get autographs. It's a neat experience."