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Ex-Gamec< By JOHN MacMILLAN Staff Writer For ex-USC football standouts Ryan Bethea and Danny Smith, summer employment translates into putting on pads, covering 50-yard distances, and bouncing off walls. Bethea and Smith, teammates on Carolina's 1987 Gator Bowl team, are members of Charlotte's twoyear-old Arena Football League franchise, the Rage. And according to Bethea, it is not nicknamed "rock 'n' roll" football for nothing. "The field is obviously smaller, so the game is much faster paced and high-scoring." Bethea said. "The wall will make you a man. It will either make you or brake you." The "wall" is the padded wall surrounding the sidelines, with only a few inches of space between them and the wall. In addition, the field is only half the width of an NFL or college field and players are unable to avoid would-be tacklers by just stepping out-of-bounds. Also, each team has eight players, who tend to be smaller and quicker than their NFL counterparts, on opposite sides of the ball. "Most of the players in the league are too small to play in the NFL," said Gary Mullen, a veteran arena league player. Arena football players are about 25 pounds lighter than NFL players. The rules of arena football are basically the same as any other football game, but with a few twists. One of the major changes /p<ywl llll Moving Car especially when fn gf ijr air-conditionet ll/l apartments. Sum) IIIf and jail semester i,2,3<3?4 bed) firs' It's a cool i / || Weekends by a 3cks help C] involves the rebound net in the back of the end zone. 1 he rebound net is used as a carrier to keep the ball out of the stands because of the shortness of the field. This causes some interesting plays on kick-offs as the ball bounces off the net, and the receiving team must play it accordingly. The net is divided into two sections, with the split in the center used as the field goal posts. The goal posts are only 9 feet wide compared with 15 feet in the NFL. This complicates matters when considering the fact that in arena football there are no punters. The Rage are 5-4, 3-3 in Arena League play, after a July 9 upset of the Tampa Bay Storm, who hammered them 52-19 earlier this year. The win secured Charlotte a berth in the playoffs in only their second season of play. Although the AFL has been in existence for seven years, it is only a summer sport, and players like Bethea and Smith have to move on. Bethea has recently been released from the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League, after making the teams preliminary cut He said he wishes to silence the critics who question his dedication to football. "I love the game and plan on playing as long as I can," he said. Bethea was the second leading receiver in the AFL last year, with 75 catches and 11 touchdowns. He had two touchdowns in the victory over the Storm. Sk i 'Be a Jiasslt luting your furniture /jjj Vhatey's Milt has U {, futty furnisfied mer short term teases tancac m>nitnhle on J\ ll room apartments. way to live!I ippointment only / A tin Street harlotte Rage go T% m * # bctiiea's uay ^PNlNW a?v-y^ jftgP W, (WMMBM 1^^ J W ? jw ?Pr^M"^w^ \\WSfc uscsummef IllJ^J^/1 ORDER FROM BA US*? PERSONALIZED GRADU/ PACKAGE C ADDITIONAL ANNOUN 10 DAY TURNAROUND WHEN PICKED UP A" UNDERGRADUATE CAP G phone orders with full payme IN COLUMBIA 254-5330 OUTSIDE COLUMBIA 1-800-526OR COME BY OUR LOCAL OFFICE 1226 PICKENS STREET SUITE 5 SUMMER HOURS MON-THURS 8:< THANK YOU- BL CLASS OF 72 to AFL playoffs S J* Jh^rJI' " H " MHHRHH^Hp^Hpp > . . ? if I j$j|? % *R. i J f* **1! ^Z:_ % w'? Photos courtesy ot Sassan Sadi Ryan Bethea, receiver for the Charlottle Rage i?* *^e ^rena football after the game. Above, Bethea walks off the field after a play. Left, Bethea reacts to an official's call. ^ I \ GRADUATES M$5p||jj LFOUR AND SAVE (VM* ' \TION ANNOUNCEMENTS )F 15- $21.75 ICEMENTS $1.45 EACH NO SHIPPING CHARGES r OUR LOCAL OFFICE iOWN AND TASSEL- $16.00 -NT Cmn U SO (^ x PmdilWa 0290 \ ^ ^ ? ' _________ Oerrala ? 0unbar _ * Funeral Heme DO TO 3:00 F~ , JDDY ROTH Tn~7 L-^r