Thursday, Feb. 6, 2003 | 10:10 a.m.
He wishes them nothing but the best, but forgive Randy Gatewood if he cannot see how the Las Vegas Gladiators are going to survive where so many other sports teams have failed.
"Sports is a tough ticket out in Vegas," the former UNLV receiver said. "You've got to have a really, really good show to win people over."
Gatewood should know -- he authored one of those really good shows, a 23-catch, 363-yard performance for the UNLV football team in 1994, but the Rebels lost the game (to Idaho). Entering his eighth season with the Arizona Rattlers, Gatewood knows that the name of the game to survive in niche sports in fickle markets is winning.
"Over the years, we've put a good product on the field," Gatewood said. "That helps."
If the Gladiators are to persevere in Las Vegas, stealing from the Rattlers' successful blueprint might be a good idea. The Gladiators will get a firsthand look at Arizona's model when they take on the Rattlers Sunday in Phoenix.
A core group of a half-dozen players that includes Gatewood and fellow UNLV alum and Arena League star Hunkie Cooper helped Arizona create the foundation for continued success. Entering their 12th season in Arena Football, the two-time ArenaBowl champions (1994 and 1997) regularly welcome sellout crowds at America West Arena.
"It's just been that core group of players being comfortable and being close to each other," Gatewood said.
For Gatewood, the Arena League became home after he was cut by the Miami Dolphins during training camp in 1995. He took some time off and contemplated joining the now-defunct World League of American Football, then eventually decided to give the fledgling arena game a try.
It paid off well for the 30-year-old Gatewood. With 4,869 career receiving yards and 105 touchdowns, along with 15 interceptions as a defensive back, the four-time All-Arena League selection became a beacon for what can be accomplished in the indoor game.
"I've gotten accustomed to how the game works, and I've been able to hang around," Gatewood said.
Learning the game was an adjustment for Gatewood, and players such as Cooper helped bring him along and allow for his development. The stats suggest that Gatewood is a quick study; he compiled 54 catches for 741 yards and 18 TDs, to go with 6 INTs, as a rookie in 1996.
"It's a lot harder than it looks," Gatewood said.
For a long time, Gatewood could not even feel certain that the league itself would hang around. Arena Football found its main source of TV exposure on ESPN, with little chance to expand awareness beyond the markets that harbored teams.
Now, with the ballyhooed NBC TV deal in place, Gatewood feels that Arena Football is here to stay and he is proud that he can view himself as one of the pillars upon which that success is built.
"I can look back on this league in 10 or 15 years and say I helped pioneer the league," Gatewood said. "I hung in there when it wasn't doing as well as it is today."
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