Orlando Rage

Orlando Rage
Founded	2001
Folded	2001; 23 years ago
Based in	Citrus Bowl
Head coach	Galen Hall
General manager	Tom Veit
League	XFL
Division	Eastern
Colors	Red, navy blue, gold, white;
Division titles	1 (2001)

The Orlando Rage was an

World Wrestling Federation and by NBC

, a major television network in the United States.

History

The team's colors were scarlet, yellow, navy blue and white with jersey numbers in a unique jagged font. They played their home games at Orlando's

Florida Citrus Bowl, which was configured so that the upper deck was closed off and all fans were seated in the lower bowl to give a better appearance for television (a move that was effective, as the Rage had one of the stronger fan bases in the league, with average attendance at over two-thirds of the lower bowl's capacity; the team sold out all 36,000 lower bowl seats for its home opener).^[2] The team's General Manager was Tom Veit a former Major League Soccer Vice-president and were coached by former Florida Gators head coach Galen Hall. They were in the XFL's Eastern Division with the NY/NJ Hitmen, Chicago Enforcers and Birmingham Thunderbolts

.

The Rage were one of the two teams who opted not to don nicknames on the back of their jerseys. In the Rage's case, the decision was made by a majority vote of the players (despite the objections of starting quarterback Jeff Brohm, who openly embraced the XFL's approach to sports entertainment and wanted to wear "J Bro" on his jersey).^[3]

Florida Tuskers, would also win their first six games in a row before losing the seventh). He showed his toughness after he suffered an injury from a devastating hit by at the hands of Memphis Maniax defensive end Shante Carver in Week 5. Despite suffering a concussion in the hit and doctors' advice not to play, Brohm came back a week later against Las Vegas, giving a rousing speech stating that he was returning because it was the XFL and he still had a pulse.^[3] The following week he suffered a shoulder injury against the Los Angeles Xtreme and his season (and playing career) was done for good. It led to him being replaced by Brian Kuklick

after six games. While Kuklick filled in the role of quarterback acceptably, the team lost a valuable leader on offense. The team went 2–2 in Kuklick's care; Kuklick, despite only starting four games, led the league in interceptions with 10.

The team finished their only regular season with an 8–2 record, the best in the league, but were upset in the first round of the playoffs by the 5–5 San Francisco Demons. Orlando had an early 16–0 advantage but allowed San Francisco to pull ahead and take a 26–16 lead by the fourth quarter. Using the XFL's newly introduced three-point conversion rule on a subsequent touchdown, the Rage got within one point but the Demons successfully ran out the clock and won 26–25. San Francisco would go on to lose the XFL Championship Game versus Los Angeles 38–6. Many in the league were disappointed, hoping for a match-up against the two division champions. NBC dropped the XFL after the first season (2001) due to dismal ratings, and the league folded soon afterward.

XFL returns to Florida

In December 2018, the

revival of the XFL announced that it would return to Florida. Because the Alliance of American Football's Orlando Apollos already laid claim to the Orlando market, the XFL opted to place the new team in Tampa, Florida, 80 miles (130 km) southwest of Orlando and connected to that city by way of Interstate 4. The league was exploring relocating the Vipers to Orlando shortly before the league suspended operations and went bankrupt in April 2020.^[4] In 2022, the league, under new ownership, announced that the New York Guardians would relocate to Orlando as the Orlando Guardians

. The team took the field on February 18, 2023. Following the XFL merger with the USFL that was the last season in Orlando

Season-by-season

Season records
Season	W	L	T	Finish	Playoff results
2001	8	2	0	1st Eastern	Lost Semifinals (San Francisco)
Totals	8	3	0	(including playoffs)

Schedule

Regular season

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue
1	February 3	Chicago Enforcers	W 33–29	1–0	Florida Citrus Bowl
2	February 10	San Francisco Demons	W 26–14	2–0	Florida Citrus Bowl
3	February 18	at New York/New Jersey Hitmen	W 18–12	3–0	Giants Stadium
4	February 24	Birmingham Thunderbolts	W 30–6	4–0	Florida Citrus Bowl
5	March 4	at Memphis Maniax	W 21–19	5–0	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
6	March 10	Las Vegas Outlaws	W 27–15	6–0	Florida Citrus Bowl
7	March 18	at Los Angeles Xtreme	L 6–31	6–1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
8	March 25	New York/New Jersey Hitmen	W 17–12	7–1	Florida Citrus Bowl
9	March 31	at Birmingham Thunderbolts	W 29–24	8–1	Legion Field
10	April 8	at Chicago Enforcers	L 6–23	8–2	Soldier Field

Post-season

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue
Semi-final	April 14	San Francisco Demons	L 25–26	0–1	Florida Citrus Bowl

Personnel

Staff

**2001 Orlando Rage staff**
	Front office Vice president/general manager – Tom Veit Director of player personnel – Will McClay Head coaches Head coach/director of football operations – Galen Hall Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks – Mike Kelly Wide receivers – Mike Jones Tight ends – Les Moss Offensive line – Whitey Jordan Quality control/offense – Matt Moore			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator/linebackers – Charlie Bailey Defensive line – Mickey Mays Secondary – Steve Carson Quality control/defense – Tom Silvanic Special teams coaches Special teams – Andy Cox

Source:[5]

Roster

**2001 Orlando Rage final roster**

	Quarterbacks 14 Brian Kuklick Running backs 21 Michael Black 43 Derrick Clark 20 Brian Shay Wide receivers 5 Mario Bailey 81 Dialleo Burks 88 Scott Cloman 2 Shannon Culver 1 Tony Gaiter 4 Kevin Swayne Tight ends 85 Lawrence Hart		Offensive linemen 65 Jeremy Akers T 66 Dan Collins T 57 Cal Dixon C 73 Jason Gamble G 68 Dan Goodspeed T 69 Sean Love G 60 Garin Patrick C Defensive linemen 97 Mark Campbell DT 91 Sedric Clark DE 95 Bill Duff DT 72 Ben Huff DT 99 Andre Purvis DT 90 James Roberson DE		Linebackers 58 Patrise Alexander 56 Shawn Banks 51 James Burgess 54 Jimmy Clements 46 Rich Young Defensive backs 24 Ricky Bell 22 Greg Haren S 26 Reginald Doster CB 35 Stephen Fisher CB 41 Cory Gilliard S 23 Kelly Malveaux CB 33 Louis Riddick S Special teams 10 Jay Taylor K		Reserve lists 11 IRTooltip Injured reserve) Practice squad -- Jim Arellanes QB 76 Cheston Blackshear OG -- Patrick Bonner QB 86 Terrance Huston TE -- Corey Mayfield DT -- Vincent Ruddy Water Boy -- Vince Marrow TE 64 Jeff Miller OT 30 Hassan Shamsid-Deen DB Rookies in italics , 8 practice squad

Standings

Eastern Division
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
Orlando Rage	8	2	0	.800	207	162	L1
Chicago Enforcers	5	5	0	.500	163	178	W1
New York/New Jersey Hitmen	4	6	0	.400	110	145	W1
Birmingham Thunderbolts	2	8	0	.200	131	217	L7

Source:^[6]

Statistical leaders

Rushing yards: 387, Derrick Clark
Receiving yards: 659, Dialleo Burks
Passing yards: 998, Brian Kuklick

Awards and honors

Awards

Season	Coach	Award
2001	Galen Hall	Coach of the Year^[7]

Honors

Season	Player	Position	Honor
2001	Jeff Brohm	QB	All-XFL team ^[8]
	James Burgess	LB
	Jason Gamble	G

References

^ "Orlando Rage Logo Sheet". SSUR.org. Archived from the original on November 28, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
^ Simmons, Roger (January 25, 2018). "XFL, fast-paced and fan-friendly, returning in 2020; Orlando interested in getting team". Orlando Sentinel.
^ ^a ^b Carmin, Mike (July 27, 2017). "Jeff Brohm's XFL mic drop moment follows him to Purdue". Gannett News Service. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
^ Fischer, Ben (April 17, 2020). "Last Call for the XFL". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
^ 2001 Orlando Rage Media Guide. XFL. pp. 4–12.
^ "XFL Standings". USA Today. May 12, 2001. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
^ "Orlando's Hall Picked As Coach Of The Year". Orlando Sentinel. April 20, 2001. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
^ "3 Rage Players Named To All-XFL Team". Orlando Sentinel. April 28, 2001. Retrieved February 18, 2011.

[1] "Orlando Rage Logo Sheet". SSUR.org. Archived from the original on November 28, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2019.

[2] Simmons, Roger (January 25, 2018). "XFL, fast-paced and fan-friendly, returning in 2020; Orlando interested in getting team". Orlando Sentinel.

[letsplayfootball-3] Carmin, Mike (July 27, 2017). "Jeff Brohm's XFL mic drop moment follows him to Purdue". Gannett News Service. Retrieved 29 November 2017.

[4] Fischer, Ben (April 17, 2020). "Last Call for the XFL". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved April 18, 2020.

[5] 2001 Orlando Rage Media Guide. XFL. pp. 4–12.

[6] "XFL Standings". USA Today. May 12, 2001. Retrieved February 18, 2011.

[7] "Orlando's Hall Picked As Coach Of The Year". Orlando Sentinel. April 20, 2001. Retrieved February 18, 2011.

[8] "3 Rage Players Named To All-XFL Team". Orlando Sentinel. April 28, 2001. Retrieved February 18, 2011.

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