Andrew Coen - The United Football League’s New York Sentinels inaugural season can best be described as nomadic, as they are playing all three home games in three different stadiums within the Tri-State area.  Wednesday night was Long Island’s turn to play host to the Big Apple’s newest professional sports franchise. The Sentinels played their second home game against the Las Vegas Locomotives at Hofstra University’s Shuart Stadium and, while the crowd was small, players and coaches from both teams seemed to enjoy the Long Island experience.

“[Shuart Stadium] has a lot of positives going for it,” said New York Sentinels Head Coach Ted Cottrell after his team’s 41-10 loss. “[The decision on whether the Sentinels return to Hofstra] would be up to the league, but I think that this is certainly something that would be under strong consideration. . .”  

The Sentinels first of three home games was held at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. last week when they played the California Redwoods.  And its final game in the Tri-State area is scheduled at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut on November 14th against the Florida Tuskers. Wednesday night’s Sentinels home game against Las Vegas was originally scheduled for Citi Field in Flushing, Queens, but on October 22nd, UFL officials announced the game would instead be played at Hofstra. It is unclear if the Sentinels will have one home venue in 2010 or play at three different sites like this season, but, for Long Island, the hope is that they will choose Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium again.

The announced attendance at Hofstra was 4,392 with 12,004 tickets distributed, but the actual crowd appeared much smaller with attendance likely hurt by Game Six of the World Series between the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies. Despite the small crowd, the Sentinels game at Hofstra still provided Long Island with an opportunity to host a professional sports event before a national television audience.  Local influence was everywhere, as the game included a half-time performance by the Valley Stream South High School Cheerleaders. The Hofstra Cheerleading Team even appeared before the nation as cameras focused in on them in the third quarter of the television broadcast on Versus.

The UFL game at Hofstra was also a homecoming for Las Vegas Locomotives Tight-End Adam Bergen, a Seaford High School graduate. Bergen did not disappoint his local fans as he hauled in four catches, including a 14-yard second quarter touchdown reception that gave Las Vegas a 17-0 lead. “He has got a minimum of 25 questions a day for me,” said Las Vegas Head Coach Jim Fassel, who coached the New York Giants to the Super Bowl during the 2000 season.  “He’s a Long Island guy…. he has just always got a comment, always got something,” Fassel said jokingly as he described Bergen’s attentiveness in preparing for each game.

Another former Long Islander who returned to the area for the Wednesday night game was Sentinels Offensive Coordinator John Tice, a Bay Shore native. The November 4th UFL contest was also a return to familiar surroundings for Cottrell, who was Defensive Coordinator for the New York Jets from 2001-2003 and remembered when “Gang Green” had its practice facilities at Hofstra. “It brought back a lot of memories,” said Cottrell of his return to Hofstra’s campus six years after he last coached with the Jets. “It was nice to be back.”

Shuart Stadium was also a familiar scene for Las Vegas running back Marcel Shipp, a former National Football League player with the Arizona Cardinals.  As a college player, he rushed for 147 yards for Massachusetts in a 40-35 win over Hofstra on Oct. 3, 1998. “We were out here for practice and we saw Hofstra out here practicing and I was like ‘Man, I remember those days playing against these guys,” said Shipp. “It definitely brought back a lot of memories.”

The loss to Las Vegas dropped the Sentinels to 0-4 with two games remaining. New York’s next game is scheduled for November 14th at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut at 7 p.m. with its 2009 finale at Las Vegas on November 20th at 9 p.m. For further information on the Sentinels, log onto www.ufl-football.com/teams/new_york_sentinels.

**Photos Courtesy of the UFL.**