Questions, comments? JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com
Had the chance to sit down with Matt Nagy last weekend while he was in town visiting family and friends before heading to New Orleans for Arena Bowl XXI. Matt spoke about family, faith, a couple of bracelets, his shaved head and a scruffy beard. Here’s my story from Tuesday’s New Era:
Matt Nagy wears a blue bracelet on his left wrist and an orange bracelet on his right wrist.
“I don’t take them off — ever,” the former Manheim Central and University of Delaware standout quarterback said Saturday.
There are two words engraved on each bracelet:
On the blue, the names of Nagy’s sons, Brayden and Tate.
On the orange, the words family and faith.
“Those things are everything to me,” Nagy said during a meet-and-greet session with family, friends and well-wishers at Kreider’s Restaurant in Manheim, where he was on hand to sign autographs and shake hands before he leads the Columbus Destroyers into Saturday’s Arena Bowl XXI against San Jose.
“Those things are more important to me than anything,” Nagy said, proudly showing off the bracelets to a visitor.
“They remind me to keep things in perspective. Family, faith … that’s it. My kids. My wife Stacey. Those things are very, very important to me.”
Winning the Arena Bowl also ranks pretty highly on Nagy’s wish list.
He’ll get his chance Sunday at 3 p.m. when Columbus (10-9 overall) and the San Jose SaberCats (15-3) meet in the New Orleans Arena.
The game will be broadcast by ABC.
This marks Nagy’s second trip to the Arena Bowl. He guided the Georgia Force to the 2005 title game, but they fell to the Colorado Crush.
Nagy was traded by Georgia to Columbus prior to the start of this season, and he’ll be taking his second franchise to the league’s ultimate game in just three years.
“I know a lot of quarterbacks who have been in the Arena League for a long time who have never tasted this,” Nagy said.
“That’s got to be frustrating for them to have never been to this game even one time. I’ve been to this game, and now I’m going for the second time in three years. I’m sure it’ll hit me down the road, but this is an exciting time and I want to take advantage of this opportunity.”
Nagy and the Destroyers have done that over the last five weeks, when they went from a playoff bubble team, to winning the National Conference.
After falling to the Philadelphia Soul 56-53 on June 16, Columbus needed a victory on the last day of league play on June 23 against New York just to qualify for the playoffs.
Destroyers 74, Dragons 43.
Hello, postseason.
That started Columbus’ magical run, which included a 56-55 win over Tampa Bay in a playoff wildcard game, a 66-59 shocker in the divisional round over Dallas — which was 15-1 coming into the game — then a 66-56 win over Georgia in the conference title game.
All four of those games, Nagy was quick to point out, were on the road.
“Winning all of those games on the road, and beating the team that traded me (Georgia),” Nagy said, “I don’t think you could have drawn this up any better.”
Nagy, who shaved his head and has been growing a beard for the last five weeks out of superstition, has been Columbus’ catalyst during the postseason.
Against Tampa Bay he passed for 260 yards and five touchdowns, and scored the game-winning TD on a 1-yard plunge with seven seconds to go in regulation.
Against Dallas he passed for 285 yards and four TDs and scored on a pair of QB keepers.
And against Georgia he passed for 209 yards and five TDs and also rushed for two scores — right smack dab in front of the front office folks who traded him away.
Nagy has thrown for 4,311 yards and tossed 59 TD passes this season.
“Matt has that gunslinger mentality,” said Manheim Central football coach Mike Williams, who coached Nagy during his prep days with the Barons, and helped organize Saturday’s bash.
“He’s the only guy I know that can throw a football behind his back, off his back foot, falling down, sideways. He’s perfect for the Arena League,” Williams added.
“He’s living his dream, and it’s great for him and his family.”
Family and faith. Stacey, Brayden and Tate.
That’s what it says on Nagy’s bracelets, which he’ll proudly display Sunday — along with his shaved head and six-week-old beard — when the Destroyers take the field in New Orleans.
“We didn’t win the state title when I was here, but I was fortunate to be in a successful program here in Manheim,” Nagy said. “And we got to the national semifinals twice when I was at Delaware. So I’m still waiting to win the big game. I’m waiting to be a part of a championship team — a team that went the whole way.
“Come Saturday, I want to be able to say that I helped this team go the whole way.”
