Fate and Destiny are funny things

By Steven Lienert
The Phanatic Magazine

Philadelphia, PA.- When Jon Bon Jovi and Ron Jaworski inked Tony Graziani to be the face of the Philadelphia Soul franchise back in 2005, they both envisioned their team playing for an ArenaBowl championship.

Little did they know at the time that Matt D'Orazio would be the one at the helm.

As it turned out, D'Orazio's bad back turned into the Soul's lucky break.

The Chicago Rush, whom D'Orazio piloted to the ArenaBowl title in 2006, outright released him following the 2007 campaign due to a back injury.

“I didn't know what was in store for me,” D'Orazio said after leading the Soul to a 70-35 win over the Cleveland Gladiators in the National Conference Championship game at the Wachovia Center on Saturday.

D'Orazio later signed with the Soul to be Graziani's backup, and when Graziani went down with a nagging knee injury, D'Orazio grabbed the reigns of the Soul and hasn't let go.

“He's winner,” Soul head coach Bret Munsey said, referring to D'Orazio. But just then, in mid-quote, Munsey's thoughts turned to Graziani, who, to his credit, hasn't pouted or rocked the boat even though he lost his job due to an injury.

“We have two quarterbacks playing well,” Munsey said. “Tony Graziani, I'm happy for him. He's grown with the franchise. I feel for him as an athlete.”

Munsey felt for Graziani because Graziani has paid his dues and deserved to quarterback the Soul to ArenaBowl glory. He also feels for Graziani because of the old sports axiom that says an athlete shouldn't lose his job due to injury.

But D'Orazio played so well, not only could Graziani not get back on the field, but D'Orazio was named the AFL's Player of the Year, which is essentially the MVP.

Meanwhile, the Soul's in-arena and on-field employees (especially the guys) wore Graziani's No. 7. At one point during the conference title game, when a fan attempted to throw a football through the uprights for a gift certificate, the announcer told him to throw one like Graziani, not D'Orazio.

In places where they sold Soul merchandise, Bon Jovi's No. 3 and Graziani's No. 7 jerseys were readily available. However, if a fan wanted a jersey of the AFL MVP, he'd have to have it custom made.

None of this, though, bothers D'Orazio.

“It's not about me,” D'Orazio said. “It's about the Philadelphia Soul.”

Following the Soul's win over Cleveland, the team gathered on a stage at midfield to hoist the National Conference trophy and celebrate with the fans. Behind the throng of players, coaches and hangers on up on the platform, D'Orazio had one foot on the bottom step. He stood quietly in the background and watched his teammates revel in their accomplishment. The only time he was noticeable at all was when the team turned around to thank the fans standing behind them. That's Matt D'Orazio in a nut shell.

“I'm just happy to be a part of it,” D'Orazio said. “I'm humbled by the whole situation. I'm just extremely fortunate.”

So are the Soul.

Steve Lienert can be reached at stevelienert@hotmail.com.