By RICHARD OBERT
Inside the AFL

When Barry Wagner dropped a sure touchdown pass, after Wendall Gaines blocked a last-second field-goal try, the Arizona Rattlers escaped San Jose in May with more than a Western Conference crown.

They secured the No. 1 seed, which meant home turf throughout the Arena Football League playoffs.

And coach Danny White could sleep at night, knowing his Rattlers controlled their path to the America West Arena for ArenaBowl XVIII.

It was huge. The past two Arizona teams had to hit the road for the ArenaBowl - losing 52-14 to San Jose in 2002 and 43-29 last year at Tampa Bay.

For weeks, the Rattlers' ears were ringing from the sound of screaming San Jose and Tampa Bay fans and public-address announcers who knew no volume high enough to shout scoring strikes and big plays for their teams.

The Rattlers did nothing right in those games, and White said, "Playing on the road has a lot to do with it Š playing in hostile environments."

Not since 1998 has a visiting team won the ArenaBowl. Orlando didn't have to go a great distance to beat Tampa Bay by 31 points in the War on I-5.

San Jose has to travel roughly 800 miles to play in front of a sold-out crowd that will scream and stand from opening kickoff to final whistle on Sunday. It will be a crowd of fans painted in teal and black and some carrying rather large rubber snakes around their bodies.

It's an advantage that the Rattlers know they can't blow.

The last time the Rattlers won the ArenaBowl was at home in 1997 when an overflow crowd watched the Rattlers harass future Super Bowl MVP Kurt Warner into rushed passes in a 55-33 blowout.

It wasn't such an advantage to host the ArenaBowl before Albany started a run of five straight titles on their home turf.

Before then, the home team had won only four of 12 championship games.

"What the crowd can bring to the game is unbelievable," Rattlers vice president Gene Nudo said. "There are fans out there living and dying with every play. It's their passion."

How big is home field? In the Rattlers' 45-41 semifinal win over Colorado, a fan intercepted a pass near the boards from Damian Harrell . The fan stole six points from the Crush.

"I think as the fans become more educated and understand the game better, there is more of an advantage," White said.

The Rattlers lost a bowl record four fumbles last year. They were dominated from beginning to end the previous year in San Jose.

The way the PA called the game, White said, it was like, "San Jose against nobody."

"It was like we weren't even there," White said. "Everything was geared toward San Jose.

"The announcer makes a big difference. They should pick an all-AFL stadium announcer."

Quarterback Sherdrick Bonner had two of his worst games in hostile environments playing in the past two ArenaBowls. He had a combined three touchdown passes and two interceptions.

"The noise factor in the Arena game is so much greater than in the NFL," said White, who played quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys and was on teams that played in the Super Bowl. "It makes a difference in the quarterback's timing. It's a big deal."

Arena League officials are exploring the idea of moving the championship to a neutral site. But it may be hard to find a majority vote. Most league officials like the idea of a seeded playoff format with the highest seed earning the right to host the ArenaBowl.

Nudo, who is involved in Arena operations, said that it won't always be two weeks between the end of the playoffs and the ArenaBowl. It is difficult putting sponsors in place at a week's notice, the main reason the Arena game would move to a neutral site.

But there would be concerns for the league, such as finding a place where the popularity of game would be so strong that the arena would be filled.

White thinks the Arena game is moving in that direction, though he doesn't think this is a good time to set up a neutral site.

He would, however, like to see "neutral" game operators, such as bringing in an objective PA announcer.

"Basically, we love the ArenaBowl set-up as it is," said Chris McCloskey, senior vice president of communications for the Arena Football League. "Because it is all riding on one game and we have a great, interested, non-corporate crowd, we feel it's one of the best sporting events in the nation."

San Jose coach Darren Arbet downplays the significance of home field in the championship game.

"We've won a lot of games where it's loud," he said.

Sunday, the Rattlers are counting on their "ninth man," the fans.

And the SaberCats' ears will be burning.