Less predictable is what comes next for the Wild. Rumors are flying that Thursday's game was not just a season finale but a franchise finale, that pro football's rocky ride in Anchorage might be over after three seasons.
Coach Sonny Rodriguez says that's not true.
"As of right now, the Wild will be back," he said. "Rumors like that always go around when you don't win any football games. That's gonna happen. People talk and they speculate. But as far as I know, we're going to be around."
The Wild were 0-14 this season and averaged about 2,200 fans a game, down about 1,000 from last season, when they went 5-10, spokesman Jeff Worthington said.
Whether the team survives to play another season in the Indoor Football League could depend on whether the team can attract a new ownership group, he said.
Randy Deeter, an Anchorage oral surgeon, inherited "a lot" of debt when he became majority owner in May and is ready to divest his interest in the team, Worthington said.
"We don't have official word yet, but we're looking for investors, some kind of ownership group instead of just Doc," Worthington said. "We're not for sale yet, but we're putting feelers out. If (a sale) doesn't happen, I don't know what will happen."
Deeter could not be reached for comment Friday.
A WINLESS SEASON
The season ended on an abysmal note Thursday in a 54-25 loss to Fairbanks in front of about 2,200 fans. It was the fourth win over the Wild this season for the Grizzlies, a 2-year-old team headed for the playoffs with a 7-7 record.
Only 19 players suited up, two fewer than the maximum 21, because of injuries and departures. The team's best player, Demarcus James, watched from the sidelines with his left arm in a sling to protect a dislocated elbow. Others were forced into double duty, playing both offense and defense. Kicker Jeff Tongate had to fill in at wide receiver.
"We had four guys playing both ways, iron-man football. We don't even do that at Dimond High," said Rodriguez, who coaches the Lynx during the high school season.
Rodriguez is the latest to ride the Wild's merry-go-round of coaches, which has been practically in perpetual motion since the franchise was formed. He took over as the Wild head coach after eight games this season, replacing the fired Floyd Johnson, who became coach late in the offseason when Hans Deemer resigned.
Resources were limited this season because the team focused on reducing its debt, Rodriguez said. He said the Wild paid off about $270,000 in old debt, and according to Worthington, "there's still a little left."
With money going elsewhere, the team mostly recruited locally and put far more Alaskans on the field than in previous seasons.
"We only had nine out-of-staters, of which only three played (Thursday)," Rodriguez said.
James, an electrifying player from Cedartown, Ga., led the IFL with nine kickoff returns for touchdowns before his injury. A member of the Wild for all three seasons, he said he's gotten some attention from Canadian Football League teams and hopes to advance his pro football career. But he said he's ready to come back to Anchorage if he doesn't move on to a higher level.
Going through a winless season -- especially one that delivered numerous bruising losses, like a 76-9 road loss to Wichita and a 73-18 home loss against Billings -- was tough, he said. So is going through so many coaches. But it's part of being an athlete, he said.
"It can't stop you from being a professional athlete," James said. "You've gotta keep your mind on the job. You've gotta keep focused to get paid to play football."
WINS SELL TICKETS
The fans in attendance Thursday were enthusiastic enough, but empty seats were in abundance, as they have been most of the season. Attendance this season ranged from about 1,200 to 3,300 in an arena that seats more than 6,000.
"I'm real disappointed there aren't more people here," said fan Tom Rainey of Palmer, a season-ticket holder from Palmer with front-row seats behind the end zone.
He's been a fan all three seasons, a stretch during which the Wild are 7-35 with zero road victories. Rainey, who held up a "Tonight's the Night" sign at Thursday's finale, said he's behind the team win or lose, although next season he intends to switch allegiances to a new team starting up in Wasilla so he won't have to drive so far to games.
Other fans may abandon the team for other reasons, he said.
"It's one thing to not win a game on the road for three seasons," Rainey said, "but if you don't win any games at home, it's tough to put butts in the seats."
Nahir Strout of Eagle River is a dedicated fan who spent Thursday standing on a folding chair and leaning over one of the sideline walls to cheer. She and her family delayed a dipnetting trip to the Kenai Peninsula in order to attend the game, but she understands why others might go for entertainment options other than the Wild.
"Right now, they're making it easy for the fans to choose (not to come)," said season-ticket holder Nahir Strout, an Eagle River woman who attends games with her husband and two kids. "Rumors are flying that they might fold because of their lack of winning and lack of support, but it's a young team. Some NFL teams take years to get good.
"It's not about the losing. It's our team. It's Anchorage. We've gotta support them."
REMAINING HOPEFUL
If the Wild survive to play another season, things could improve financially.
The team spent about $180,000 on travel this season, and Worthington said expenses would be cut in half if the new team in Wasilla, called the Predators, joins the IFL.
The Predators would give Alaska three IFL teams, "which would be awesome, because it would cut travel costs and we would have some rivals," Worthington said.
Roughly two-thirds of the Wild's season would be played in state, with four games apiece against Wasilla and Fairbanks. This season, the Wild played 10 of 14 games in the Lower 48.
Between potential savings in travel and this season's reduction of team debt, the Wild could again be in position to recruit players nationally, Rodriguez said. And that could help turn things around on the field.
For now, though, the focus remain on off-field happenings. Deeter is close to retirement and has sunk a lot of money into the team, Worthington said, which is why the Wild are looking for a new or expanded ownership group.
Meanwhile, season tickets for next year went on sale during Thursday's game. About 100 were sold, Worthington said.
"I'm optimistic," he said.
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