As the NFL gets ready to begin, the Milwaukee Mustangs of the Arena Football League saw their season come to an end Saturday evening with a victory over the Chicago Rush.  The victory capped a tumultuous year for the Mustangs.  It was a year full of ups and downs in which the players, coaches, and the organization showed incredible levels of perseverance that bode well for the Mustangs in the upcoming years. 

After coming just one game short of the Arena Bowl in 2010, the Mustangs finished this year with a less than stellar 7-11 record.  Looking at the record though doesn't necessarily tell the whole story.  The average loss for this season was just over 10 points.  Out of those 11 losses were only 3 where you might say they were taken to the preverbal wood shed.  The 8 remaining losses could fall into the category of heartbreak.  Case and point: 

•       In two games with the Pittsburgh Power, the Mustangs came up on the short end of both contests by a combined 3 points.  The ladder meeting, a one point loss, occurred when Mustang quarterback Gino Guidugli, trying to keep the clock running fumbled the football with time expiring in the game.  The Power threw a go ahead touchdown on the last play of the game.

 •       In a game against the Soul in Philadelphia, quarterback Ryan Vena hit Donovan Morgan as time expired to give Philly a 39-37 victory.  A 4 point loss against the Cleveland Gladiators, and a 5 point loss against the Orlando Predators continue the tail of the type of losses the mustangs experienced this year.

The Mustangs also had their share of personnel issues throughout the season.  Injuries forced the exit of some important weapons, while forcing other players to be placed in spots they weren't accustomed to playing.  Damian Harrell and Antoine Burns were just the tip of the iceberg when it came to players who missed substantial time due to injury.  Injuries that in the case of Antoine Burns, not only forced him to miss the final two games of the season, but may jeopardize his ability to play the sport next year and beyond.  It was also a year in which the team went through four different quarterbacks before settling on Gino Guidugli down the stretch.

 
The organization also faced a scheduling nightmare by seeing 3 Monday night and 1 Thursday night game.  For anyone who went to the Bradley Center this year, there was a noticeable difference in attendance between those 4 games and the others that were scheduled on Friday or Saturday.  I don't think you'll find another team in the league that wrestled with the type of scheduling the Mustangs did.

  

Yet, this team finished the year on a 3 game winning streak.  It was a streak in which they averaged 71 points per game, including a franchise record 41 points in one quarter against the Iowa Barnstormers.  Through it all stood Head Coach Bob Landsee.  Through the ups and downs of a season such as this, it not only takes someone who understands the x's and o's of the sport, but someone who has incredible leadership skills and doesn't allow the low points to tear at the fabric of the team.  If ever coach Landsee deserved recognition for his coaching ability it would be for this past season.

  

The Mustangs lost a number of close games, dealt with injuries, and overcame some horrific scheduling by the league.  Through it all, they finished just 3 games out of first place and a potential playoff birth.  With the type of perseverance they showed, the sky is the limit in looking forward to the 2012 season.