1 Crazy Commish
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As homecomings go, few can match the one Virginia Destroyers safety Aaron Rouse had during the 2011 United Football League season.
Rouse, born in Norfolk (his hometown is listed as Virginia Beach) and a former Virginia Tech Hokie, capped a solid 2011 season by picking off three passes in the Destroyers’ 17-3 win over the Las Vegas Locomotives last week in the 2011 UFL Championship Game at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex.
“(I‘m) still on cloud nine, celebrating with the city and my family. It feels good to walk around your hometown as a champion,” Rouse said. “It was a championship game, and our team had worked so hard to get to this point. In a championship game, we knew we wanted to put it all out there and show the UFL and the city and the country what we had to offer.
“It was a proud moment. Very proud. It’s one that you dream about when you are a kid. You dream about winning a professional championship in your hometown in front of family and friends. You can’t take it all in in that moment. It starts to sink in throughout the week.”
Rouse became just the fourth player in a major outdoor professional football league’s (UFL, National Football League, Canadian Football League, World League of American Football/NFL Europe/NFL Europa, American Football League, United States Football League, World Football League and the XFL) championship game since 1960 to pick off three passes, joining Oakland Raiders linebacker Rod Martin in Super Bowl XV, Saskatchewan Roughriders cornerback James Johnson in the 2007 Grey Cup and London Monarchs safety Dan Crossman in World Bowl ’91.
“Those facts are for the analysts,” he said. “I’m just a hard-nosed player who enjoys playing the game.”
Before 2011, Rouse played four seasons in the NFL - three with the Green Bay Packers (2007-09) and one with the New York Giants (2009) - and the 2010 UFL season with the Omaha Nighthawks.
“Obviously, the NFL is the top-notch of elite players, the top line of professional players,” Rouse said. “Winning a championship, nothing compares to that.
“It’s just as competitive (as the NFL). Obviously, there’s a talent shift from team to team, but as far as the competitive nature, it’s right on the same level as the NFL. There’s a lot of good players who want to go to the next level, and the coaching is as if you are in the NFL.”
Rouse relished the chance not only to play for Destroyers Head Coach/General Manager Marty Schottenheimer, but to help him win his first professional title as a Head Coach.
“It was priceless,” said Rouse. “When I first thought I had an opportunity play for a coach like coach Schottenheimer, I was ecstatic. To have the opportunity to understand and listen to and learn what he had to teach, it made the game so much clearer.”
Rouse also enjoyed the chance to repay the fans, the local businesses and everyone else who supported the Destroyers throughout their first UFL campaign.
“All of this would not have happened if not for the fans of Virginia,” he said. “They stuck with us from the beginning. This championship is really for them, so I just want to say ‘thank you.’”
Rouse said the top two things on his list of personal goals are to get back to the NFL and win a Super Bowl.
But if Rouse has the chance to return to the Destroyers for the 2012 season, he simply said, “I wouldn’t mind that at all.”
Rouse, born in Norfolk (his hometown is listed as Virginia Beach) and a former Virginia Tech Hokie, capped a solid 2011 season by picking off three passes in the Destroyers’ 17-3 win over the Las Vegas Locomotives last week in the 2011 UFL Championship Game at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex.
“(I‘m) still on cloud nine, celebrating with the city and my family. It feels good to walk around your hometown as a champion,” Rouse said. “It was a championship game, and our team had worked so hard to get to this point. In a championship game, we knew we wanted to put it all out there and show the UFL and the city and the country what we had to offer.
“It was a proud moment. Very proud. It’s one that you dream about when you are a kid. You dream about winning a professional championship in your hometown in front of family and friends. You can’t take it all in in that moment. It starts to sink in throughout the week.”
Rouse became just the fourth player in a major outdoor professional football league’s (UFL, National Football League, Canadian Football League, World League of American Football/NFL Europe/NFL Europa, American Football League, United States Football League, World Football League and the XFL) championship game since 1960 to pick off three passes, joining Oakland Raiders linebacker Rod Martin in Super Bowl XV, Saskatchewan Roughriders cornerback James Johnson in the 2007 Grey Cup and London Monarchs safety Dan Crossman in World Bowl ’91.
“Those facts are for the analysts,” he said. “I’m just a hard-nosed player who enjoys playing the game.”
Before 2011, Rouse played four seasons in the NFL - three with the Green Bay Packers (2007-09) and one with the New York Giants (2009) - and the 2010 UFL season with the Omaha Nighthawks.
“Obviously, the NFL is the top-notch of elite players, the top line of professional players,” Rouse said. “Winning a championship, nothing compares to that.
“It’s just as competitive (as the NFL). Obviously, there’s a talent shift from team to team, but as far as the competitive nature, it’s right on the same level as the NFL. There’s a lot of good players who want to go to the next level, and the coaching is as if you are in the NFL.”
Rouse relished the chance not only to play for Destroyers Head Coach/General Manager Marty Schottenheimer, but to help him win his first professional title as a Head Coach.
“It was priceless,” said Rouse. “When I first thought I had an opportunity play for a coach like coach Schottenheimer, I was ecstatic. To have the opportunity to understand and listen to and learn what he had to teach, it made the game so much clearer.”
Rouse also enjoyed the chance to repay the fans, the local businesses and everyone else who supported the Destroyers throughout their first UFL campaign.
“All of this would not have happened if not for the fans of Virginia,” he said. “They stuck with us from the beginning. This championship is really for them, so I just want to say ‘thank you.’”
Rouse said the top two things on his list of personal goals are to get back to the NFL and win a Super Bowl.
But if Rouse has the chance to return to the Destroyers for the 2012 season, he simply said, “I wouldn’t mind that at all.”