ESPN Tournaments

Imagine if the NFL took the MVP's from the Senior Bowl and let them start in the Super Bowl. Or more accurately, what if they took the best golfers from your country club and let them make up 12 percent of the field at the Masters?

Top Federation Classic Finishes
Place	Name	Year
1st	Bryan Kerchal	1994
2nd	Danny Correia	1986
2nd	Dalton Bobo	1997
4th	Billy Phillips	1976
5th	Charles Campbell	1974
5th	Larry Lazoen	1984
5th	David Yarbrough	1986

That is the kind of opportunity that the Federation Nation qualifiers have staring in their faces. They are about to thrust upon the biggest stage their sport has to offer, and smothered by a hoard of media who didn't know they existed a month ago.

"I'm just going to try to keep a level head, and try not to get caught up in the media craze," said Kevin Waterman, a plumber from Laplata, Md. "I hear it's quite a show."

And it is. The transition from the makeshift stages and scales in the early qualifiers, or even the tent crowded with 300 people at the Federation Nation Championships in January, is going to be a tough one.

"I would love to fish the Classic again knowing what I know now," said Anre De Villiers, a Federation Nation angler from Goodwood, South Africa, who finished 50th in the 2006 Classic. "I wasn't ready for everything that went with the fishing. I think I would do a lot better the second time around."

Besides motoring alongside the likes of Rick Clunn and Kevin VanDam, the lights, crowd and pyrotechnics of the Classic can be intimidating and push anglers off their game.

The pressure was enough to get to Roland Martin, who fished the Classic 25 times but was never able to fill the empty spot on the mantle beside his nine Angler of the Year trophies. So, it seems like it would be enough to make a club angler pass out.

But Brent Long, a general contractor from Catawba, N.C., said he has one thing going for him that Martin did not.

"There's no pressure on me," Long said. "Last place gets money, so I can't lose. I'm trying to stay relaxed and stay calm and just go fishing."

When considering Long's shot at winning the Classic against the facts of the past, it seems he is aptly named. Bryan Kerchal is the only angler to win the Classic from the ranks of the Federation Nation.

The only angler to finish in the top 10 since the turn of the century is Ken Christ, who was sixth on Lay Lake in 2002.

But maybe winning isn't everything. There are 13 different anglers who have qualified for the Classic through the Federation Nation and later qualified as a professional. Those names include 2006 Angler of the Year Michael Iaconelli and Russ Lane, both of whom are among the favorites to win this year's Classic.

Royce Dennington, a high school chemistry teacher from Barnsdall, Okla., was offered a spot on the Elite Series along with his invitation to the Classic, and is looking at the possibility of fishing full time.

"I haven't even had time to think about the Classic," Dennington said. "I've been trying to put a package together for the Elite Series. I think I'm going to give this a shot."

Worst Federation Classic Finishes
Place	Name	Year
57th	Tom Schachten	2003
50th	Anre De Villiers	2006
49th	Ron Colby	2002
49th	George Acord	2004
46th	Jerry Shawver	2003
46th	William Pippen	2004
45th	Karl Guegold	2003

Both Long and Chris Novack, a corrections officer and high school wrestling coach from Willington, Conn., have expressed interest in fishing as pros.

Then there is Waterman and Terry McWilliams, a retired grandfather from Greenfield, Ind., who are content to see this as their one shot.

At 57, McWilliams said he is too old to start thinking about a pro career, and Waterman is not interested in rigors of what it takes to fish professionally on the circuit.

"For every guy you see making it, there are a bunch of guys eating peanut butter and jelly," Waterman said. "I think I'm one of those peanut butter and jelly guys. I try to more of a realist."

But whether they are looking for a career or just want one chance to fish for the biggest prize in the sport, there are six chances for an underdog story that's worth repeating.

Media phone calls at home and their face plastered across the internet could just be the start.

If they start to do well, the pressure will only increase in a nation that roots for David to slay Goliath, always looking for the next opportunity to start chanting "Rudy" or "Rocky" … or how about "Royce?"

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