By Jennifer M. Boehm, arenafootball.com 
 
About an hour before each San Jose SaberCats game, a figure sporting a faded gray tee shirt with the Superman symbol emblazoned on the chest moves with great ease back and forth on the dark green turf. 
 
Stopping only to stretch in the end zones, there is determination in this athlete’s eyes, even if he’s smiling and joking with fans and fellow teammates. 
 
A football bounces off the field nets, he catches it and dashes toward the opposite end of the arena – darting left and right against imaginary defenders, cutting quick to the inside or toward the dasherboards.  
 
He came to play ball. And play he will. 
 
Offensive specialist Steve Papin, “Super-Steve” to his most loyal fans, has been putting on quite a super show this season. 
 
“I love the game, it’s keeping me very happy,” he said. “It’s a fun way to play football – a lot of entertainment and a lot of action.” 
 
This 28-year-old “Man of Steel” has been a recurring subject of highlight reels in his four-year career. A two-time winner of the league’s Don’t Blink award, San Jose’s No. 1 is well known as one of the league’s top offensive performers and most lethal return threats. 
 
The 5-foot-10, 190-pound scoring wizard currently leads the Arena Football League in all-purpose yards (2,776 yards) this season. If that weren’t enough for opposing teams to gulp, Papin is second in league scoring (35 TDs) and kickoff returns (59 returns, 1,375 yards, two TDs). 
 
He also leads the 11-2 SaberCats in receiving (85 receptions, 1,144 yards, 21TDs) – sixth on the league list, leads his team in field goal returns (9 returns, 198 yards, one TD) and is No. 3 in team rushing, first in rushing TDs (26 attempts, 59 yards, 11 TDs). 
 
With 224 all-purpose yards this week against Buffalo, Papin will become the first player in history to accumulate 3,000 or more yards in three straight seasons. 
 
“Ironically, I told myself I’d never play Arena Football because I didn’t think it was real football,” Papin said. “It was as if you didn’t go to the NFL, you weren’t playing football. But after competing in the league, I realized, hey, you’ve got guys here who can play ball.” 
 
Papin is definitely a championship-caliber player. 
 
To date, the Portland State alumnus bears a heavy load of AFL regular season records: 
 Most all-purpose yards gained in one season (3,190 in 1998 and 3,135 in 1999). 
 Most kickoff return yards in one season (1,632 in 1998 and 1,601 in 1999). 
 Most combined kick returns for touchdown in one season (7). 
 Most career games, 200+ all-purpose yards (27). 
 
Putting his name in the record books isn’t what he’s striving for – it’s the hardware, an ArenaBowl Championship ring, the first ever for the SaberCats organization. 
 
“As long as we get in the running for the championship, I give up all personal goals or awards,” he said. “It’s all for the team.” 
 
With the SaberCats as the top seed heading into playoffs (unless Arizona can take care of business), Papin says he enjoys being “the hunted.”  
 
“We’re used to people taking us lightly and not really giving us the time of day as far as competitiveness,” he said. “Now guys are coming at us trying to knock us off. It’s a great feeling. I’m having the most fun that I’ve had playing football.” 
 
Other teams are not only chasing down the SaberCats, they’re in pursuit of Papin as well. 
 
“You look around and you see teams who don’t kick you the ball, they try to keep it away from you, it’s tough,” Papin said. “I even heard some teams were giving guys five hundred bucks to tackle me on kickoffs.” 
 
With everyone in the league wanting a piece of Papin, why isn’t this guy tearing up the outdoor field? 
 
Simple. Papin is an every down type player, not a bench warmer. He needs to be a contributing part of the team. 
 
“If I was on the practice squad with the Rams, I wouldn’t feel like I won the SuperBowl because I wouldn’t feel like I had contributed,” he said. 
 
After workouts with the Oakland Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers, Papin got the vibe he wasn’t actually going to play, but would remain a tackling dummy on practice squads. 
 
Papin’s always had what it takes – intangibles, pure talent, passion and heart – but the politics about his lack of size and his small school experience overshadowed much of that. That’s just something he takes as a grain of salt. 
 
“When people look at what I’ve done here, they ask everyday in San Jose, when are you going to move up to the next level, the NFL?” he said. 
 
“I could stay here and play five or six more years, at least, and still be a premiere player instead of going to an NFL practice squad or even suiting up, but not playing. I can’t handle that,” Papin said. “I’d stay here in a heartbeat to be able to continue to do what I’ve done.” 
 
“I definitely couldn’t do it just for the money; go there, not play and be a nobody. I’d rather be able to play and be a part of something that’s growing.” 
 
Since Papin began playing in 1997, the league has grown from 14 teams to 20, added a Triple A league – arenafootball2 – signed a three-year, four-network television deal, and has won the hearts of millions of new fans around the nation. 
 
“Hopefully we can make it one of the five major sports,” Pain said. “Our fans are a big part of that. Our SaberCat fans are very supportive.” 
 
“We’ve always have a lot of kids in the stands,” he said. “They want to come see us, get autographs, and talk with us.” 
 
He and his teammates are appreciative of their fans’ dedication and return the favor in their community work. 
 
“We often visit children with disabilities and play wheelchair football,” Papin said. “I love doing things like that for kids in the community and those that are less fortunate.” 
 
Papin returns to Piedmont Hills High in San Jose during the off-season where he works with his old high school coach as offensive coordinator for the junior varsity team. In the future, Papin says he’d eventually like to be coaching somewhere – high school or even Arena Football.  
 
“Oh yeah, I’m definitely not a nine to five guy,” he said. 
 
What is the prediction for Papin’s future from fellow teammates? Coaching with the SaberCats by 2004.  
 
“We’ll see,” Papin said, with a smile. “I still have a long time to go.” 
 
Superman – rather, Super Steve won’t stand to be sidelined just yet.