Weathering the Storm

"I've really been impressed with the hitting," said Jack Atton, a Pop Warner football coach from Saugus, while looking out at Hormel Field in Medford. "And she," he adds, gesturing at a tall woman in a white helmet and pads. "She's got a lot more arm strength than I thought."

The woman in question is Erika Statkus, the starting quarterback for the New England Storm of the Women's Professional Football League (WPFL), who had just heaved a long completion to her teammate as the Storm struggled to comeback from a 14-0 deficit against the Syracuse Sting. The Storm played its fifth game of its fourth season as a franchise in front of a small, but enthusiastic crowd. And this all took place as the sun set behind the buildings of Tufts University, just a few minutes away.

The Medford/Somerville community is no stranger to professional women's sports. Roughly one year ago, the Boston Breakers considered playing their home games at Tufts' Zimman Field on campus. The team eventually settled at Nickerson Field at Boston University, but there is still a nearby option for Jumbos that want to take a look at women's professional sports.

The New England Storm, one of eleven franchises in the fledgling WPFL, play their home games just across the Mystic River from Tufts. Yet most students have been unaware of the team's existence since it moved into Medford for the start of the 2001 season.

"We wanted to be closer to the city," Melissa Korpacz, Storm owner and executive director of the WPFL, said about the move. "It wouldn't work in the city. Hormel Stadium looks good and you can see it right off of [route] 95."

Visibility has been the goal of the WPFL since its beginning in 1999, when two teams toured the United States in an attempt to drum up interest in women's professional football. The league started up with six teams for the 2001 season, when the Storm lost to the Houston Energy in the league's first championship game.

The women who play in the league must hold other jobs, and many are students and mothers who must balance three practices a week on top of their other duties. The players have a great deal of experience in other sports such as rugby, basketball, and flag football, but most never had the opportunity to play tackle football.

"They need to teach the fundamentals," Atton said. A lot of the drills at the tryout were the same ones we use in Pop Warner. And they do, they play fundamentally sound football."

John Powers of Syracuse and his wife Bonnie have a daughter, Kelly Powers, who plays defensive end for the Sting. It was John Powers first time at a WPFL game and his impressions were favorable.

"It's great for them. She [Power's daughter] loves it. I would like to see a bit more publicity though," he said. "Nobody knows about it."

To that end, the Storm have been active in the community, holding a football clinic in May and forming a partnership with the New England Patriots, who purchased fifty season tickets for the 2001 season. The team is looking for other ways to increase their fan base.

"We've been sending tickets out into the Medford community," Korpacz said. "And we've really been targeting Pop Warner."

The Pop Warner contingent was especially visible during the game against the Sting. In addition to Atton, the Chelsea Red Devils, the 2001 National Pop Warner Junior Super Bowl champions attended the game in their jerseys, even lining the locker room exits and cheering as the Storm came out for the second half.

The Storm ended up losing to the Sting 14-13, but it will return home on Sept. 24 to face the Wisconsin Riveters. Students with a Tufts ID will receive 50 percent off of the price of their 20-dollar ticket. Tickets can be purchased at Hormel Field or online at www.newenglandstorm.com .

The team has endured a difficult season so far, (the loss to the Sting dropped their record to 1-4), but Atton felt that the trip was worth it.

"They give you everything you need, football, food, and beer. It cost five of us 85 dollars to go here tonight. It's probably about 500 dollars to take five to the Patriots." He paused. "And its real football."

The younger two Powers agreed.

"He hit him! He hit him," Andrew Atton said after one particularly vicious tackle.

"She hit her, you mean," his brother, Patrick Atton, noted.

"Whatever," Andrew said. "Same difference.