Jets rev up to give Puget Sound a lift

SEATAC — The home team needs a win, the voice of America needs a cheer and healing comes in playing, Ken Austin says.

And by playing today, the coach of the best semipro football team in Seattle hopes his team can accommodate those needs.

On a weekend devoid of most professional or college sports across the nation due to Tuesday's terrorist attacks on the United States, the Puget Sound Jets take center stage locally as they host the Multnomah County Bucs at 7 p.m. at Auburn Memorial Stadium.

The Jets (12-0), the defending national semipro champions and ranked third nationally this season, will try to win their seventh Northwest Football League title in eight seasons. A victory today advances Puget Sound, winner of 35 in a row, to the eight-team national playoffs.

All of that, of course, takes a back seat to the tragic events this week.

"I feel just as strong as the next person about what has happened and how it has affected all of us," said Austin, the team's founder and coach for 12 seasons. "But I also feel that a lot of the professional sporting events shouldn't have been canceled. It's almost as if (the terrorists) won when they attacked us, and they are still winning because we are not bouncing back as a country.

"By having this game, it's saying, 'We're down, but we are not out.' "

Like anybody, Puget Sound's players were shocked Tuesday.

"I got a call from a friend and he told me to turn on the television, then he hung up," remembers Jets running back DeShawn Fontleroy, a car salesman from Portland. "I turned it on and watched for the next four hours. When something tragic like this happens, it's in your mind, even when you go to sleep."

The Jets, who normally practice twice a week, canceled practice Tuesday.

"It's been heavy on our minds all week, but this is our free time," said quarterback Lance Westendorf. "We feel we need to be together as a family. We are not disrespecting what has happened back East, but we need to go on with our lives instead of dwelling on these things any longer."

The Jets hope that football fans, of any level, will attend not so much to watch football, but to grieve and escape and bond.

"We never get a lot of fan support because people don't really know about semipro," said Westendorf, a graduate of Auburn High. "Our games are not publicized very well, and we understand that. This would be a good thing for those people who feel they need to get away from what has been going on."

Austin said there would be an area at the stadium where people can make donations to the Red Cross. The first in line will be players from each team.

"We want to make it a situation where we can contribute," Austin said. "In terms of being the only show in town this weekend, it's an honor for us because now everybody should come and watch some football. We should be able to make some money. We should be able to (show fans) what semipro football is all about.

"We are not trying to send the message that we don't care. We are trying to send the message that we need to keep on living."

Twice each week and once on game day, Fontleroy throws his gear in the car and makes the 3½-hour drive from Portland to Seattle. He was not about to stay home this week.

"Sports bring people together for a common good," said Fontleroy, who has played Arena Football in previous years. "You get all these people of different nationalities coming together to watch a team game and they are not bickering over race or religion. It's the same for the athletes, because you get the chance to get to know lots of different people from different races, different backgrounds and cultures."

In 12 seasons, the largest home crowd for a Jets game came in 1993, when nearly 3,000 fans attended the NWFL championship at Auburn Memorial Stadium. Austin believes a similar crowd could develop today.

"We are fortunate to have an opportunity to get out and play (today). And with all the emotion that will come from playing the national anthem and having all the tragedy in our hearts and minds, and the anticipation that we'll have a good crowd, you can expect the Jets to be fired up," Austin said. "We won't do anything fancy. We'll just line up and go, and may the best team win."