I miss Hunkie Cooper.
If fact, I miss everything Arena Football.
From 1992-2008, the Arizona Rattlers were the greatest football team to play in the desert.
This group of undersized, hardworking athletes won two titles and went to five ArenaBowls in less than 15 years.
Cooper was the driving force and my hero.
He needs to return.
The new Arena Football League is bringing this high-octane game back from the brink, and the Rattlers need to revert to their better days.
Danny White, the head coach during the championship years, has returned as Team President, but his face isn’t on the sideline.
That face needs to be Cooper’s.
The 5-foot-9 Iron Man embodied our growing state.
He ironically defeated Arizona’s new hero, Kurt Warner, in the 1997 ArenaBowl.
But Warner is now gone, and Cooper needs to fill the void.
I miss being able to keep a football when it goes into the stands.
I miss catching a player when he goes into the stands even more.
But most of all, I miss the legend that was Hunkie Cooper in the beloved teal and copper.
“Coooooooper!”
Mmm, that feels good.
April 3 can’t come fast enough.
