DATE: Sunday, August 17, 1997               TAG: 9708150287

SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS     PAGE: 10   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   53 lines

FORMER NSU STAR SITS BENCH IN FIRST YEAR AS ARENA PRO

Now Aaron Sparrow knows how Ryan Weiss must have felt.

Weiss was a quarterback at Norfolk State in 1994. Problem was, he played behind Sparrow, the talented Portsmouth native and something of a local hero after leading Wilson High to the state championship. Spartan fans flocked to see Sparrow throw for over 3,200 yards and 31 touchdowns, while Weiss barely took a snap the whole season.

Three years later, Sparrow found himself at the opposite end of the quarterback carousel. The former Spartans star landed a job with the expansion Nashville Kats of the Arena Football League. Problem was, he played behind Andy Kelly, who starred at the University of Tennessee and is something of a hero throughout the state. Crowds averaging around 11,000 a game flocked to the Nashville Arena to see Kelly throw for over 3,500 yards and a whopping 75 touchdowns. Sparrow did not attempt a pass the whole season.

``It was a strange situation,'' Sparrow said.

Still, it was a living, something Sparrow was unable to make in football after brief tryouts with the NFL and Canadian Football League. Despite setting virtually every Norfolk State passing record, the 6-1, 215-pound Sparrow went unclaimed in the 1996 NFL draft and wasn't even offered a free-agent contract. Too short, the scouts said.

He then signed with the CFL's Calgary Stampeders, but suffered a pulled stomach muscle a month into training camp. Within days, he was released.

``If I hadn't gotten hurt, who knows?'' Sparrow said.

Even proponents of the 11-year-old Arena Football League admit that the AFL, with its 50-yard field and almost total reliance on the passing game, is a long way from the NFL. But Sparrow said he enjoyed his initial experience as a soldier in the ``50-yard Indoor War,'' even from the sidelines.

``It's a fast-paced game that's a lot of fun,'' said Sparrow, who earned between $1,000-1,400 per game throughout the 14-week season.

It helped that the Kats were very successful in their debut season. Nashville posted a 10-4 record and captured the Eastern Division title before dropping a 52-49 decision to defending AFL champion Tampa Bay on Aug. 10 in the Kats' playoff opener.

ArenaBowl XI, televised by ESPN, will be played on Aug. 25 at 9 p.m.

Sparrow, who said he will remain in Nashville through the end of the month before returning to the area, said he wouldn't mind returning to the AFL next season. But he also still holds out hope of landing a job with one of the more established leagues.

``I wish I could go on to the next level, but nobody from the NFL seems to want to give me a chance,'' he said. ``So if the AFL's there again, yes, I would accept it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo/RICHARD DUNSTON

The former Wilson High standout quarterback, Aaron Sparrow, 10,

starred at Norfolk State.

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