The Rise of the Jets

By Adam Etheridge

The Jets are a relatively new club, founded as the Coventry Jaguars in 2004, however the sport has a long history in our city. Back in 1994 the first American Football team based in Coventry was called the Warwickshire Bears. Soon afterwards they became the Coventry Bears and won the Anglo Conference Central Division with an 8-2 record. The season included a narrow loss to the Oslo Trolls, the city’s first international game.

Two mergers followed. An unsuccessful one with the MK Bucks and then, in 1990, with the Walsall Titans, to form a dynamic new team called the Coventry Jaguars. The ‘Jags’ went onto record a perfect 10-0 season, the Division II Coca-Cola Bowl Championship and a notable win over the Upper Heyford Sky Kings. By 1993 Coventry found themselves in the Division 1 Super League, but it was a step too far. The signing of Cleveland Brown draftee Clemente Gordon bankrupted the club, which folded at the end of the season.

A decade later the Jaguars were reformed and started their first season in 2004, in the BAFL Division 2 South West. Despite a number of close games, the Jaguars went winless, 0-9-1. However, the club attendances and facilities were the best in the UK and the 2004/5 off-season saw some frantic activity as the Jaguars not only changed their name to the Jets but signed numerous GB Internationals such as Steve Coles and Tony Perkins as well as the mercurial Canadian QB Adam Lane.

The Jets were transformed. They ripped the BAFL Division 2 apart with a point-a-minute offense and one of the stingiest defenses in the history of the game (conceding just 7 points in the regular season and amassing over 600). The division was wrapped up by week 6 and the Jets romped into the Britbowl Division 2 final as firm favourites to beat the undefeated Kent Exiles. By half-time the perfect season for the Jets was apparently in tatters, as the southern team led 20-6. However, the Jets dominated the second half but still needed a last minute kick-off touchdown return from Perkins to take the title with a 30-26 come back victory.

The 13-0 Jets again recruited hard, now with the backing of the Cassidy Group as head line sponsors. Attendances grew to a record of 1,800 by the time the Jets were to meet the Kent Exiles in the 2006 1A semi-final in Coventry. Behind the arm of Chicago native Joe Wright and the catches of Cohen and Simms the Jets had again ripped the league apart, taking the scalp of the Birmingham Bulls on route with a 27-0 shutout. The new #1 team in the Midlands was also ranked #3 in the nation and any doubts about how much progress they had made was emphatically put to bed with the Jets thrashing of the Exiles 62-18. A comfortable 52-20 romp in the Britbowl 1A final over the Bristol Aztecs ensued and the season was rounded off with a win over the Irish National team to conclude a back-to-back perfect season. The winning streak was extended to 27-0 with a 49-0 romp over the Rhinos, Milan in early this year.

The Jets entered 2007 with a big squad, that included a lot of new faces. However, the import pair of Chris Foster and Woody Weathers failed to improve the team. Despite a narrow win over defending Britbowl Champion London O’s in front of 2,000 people at the Ricoh Arena the Jets were edged out of Europe by the Cinneplex Blue Devils in Austria. The domestic winning-streak also came to an end at the hands of the Blitz 28-24 in London, who repeated the trick 14-6 at Britbowl XXI. Nevertheless, they were great games and a terrific learning experience for a team still only 4 years old.

Entering 2008 ranked #2 in the UK and #15 in Europe the Jets enjoyed a Euro Campaign that took them into the Eurobowl quarter-finals on the back of a home victory over Valencia and a first road success over the Oslo Vikings. After falling to eventual Champions the Tirol Raiders, thoughts turned to the domestic campaign. A thrilling come from behind victory saw the Jets win Britbowl XXII, defeating defending Champions the London Blitz 33-32 on a 40 yard field goal with just 5 seconds left to play.

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