Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 6, 1993 TAG: 9302060039
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOSEPH J. STEFFEN JR.
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
OWNER PLOTTING RAMPAGE'S FAILURE
It was a relief to see the publication of the recent season-ticket holder letter concerning the passive and cautious play of our valley hockey team - a relief because apparently others have noticed the suspicious activities surrounding the "Rampage" and also because it helps explain why our players have taken so many hits this year. Knowing a few of those players, I chose not to believe that they enjoyed being patsies for the league, but if they are being told to take a beating under threat that their meager salary would be in jeopardy if they draw a league fine, who could blame them for not taking that chance.The subterfuge, however, goes way beyond the team's less-than-aggressive play at home. First and foremost, hockey is a game of emotion and heart. Since the beginning of this year, carpet-bagging owner Larry Revo has, I submit, done everything in his power to make this season a failure by deliberately taking the excitement out of games at the LancerLot. How else can one explain the following:
1. His professed distaste for "aggressive hockey" - "non-aggressive" hockey is a conflict in terms.
2. His unwillingness, despite invitations on more than one occasion to market the Rampage to college students at W&L and VPI, many of whom are dedicated and intelligent hockey fans from Northern cities. The excuse is he thinks they are unreliable fans, too far away and too "rowdy." Has Revo ever heard of sorority/fraternity pledge trips? Doesn't he realize college hockey teams from Liberty and Tech draw better than his Rampage at the Lot?
3. His temporary firing of the PA announcer at an early season game for playing music over the system after a rare player fight. Explanation: He didn't want the crowd to get out of hand and too "excited." And I naively thought crowd excitement and noisy home team support was the idea.
4. The notable absence of PA music during most play stoppages throughout this year.
To be fair, I agree that fighting should not be the focus of minor-league hockey and those who disagree aren't true hockey fans. The ECHL is no longer a goon league and hasn't been for four years. By the same token, hockey is a rough-and-tumble game and players who are not "allowed" to play that way will get rolled over. Fans who don't get to see clean but hard hits and aggressive play - along with the occasional victory - get bored or don't come at all. Similarly, while I totally agree that families should never feel hesitant to attend local games because of a negative atmosphere (it is a great team game), ever since [LancerLot owner and former team owner] Henry Brabham began keeping drinking to one side and keeping a visible security presence I've never seen or heard the first serious problem. I attend about 20 games per year and I have never been reluctant to take my girlfriend's 5- and 10-year-old girls to the games. It's just not a real problem and hasn't been for the past few years. Certainly, less so than professional wrestling or stock car racing, which draw thousands of kids and families in Roanoke. Does Revo think the crowds in Syracuse [N.Y.] or Huntington, W.Va., will be less enthusiastic, less interested in seeing hard hits, less working class?
In my opinion, the Revo agenda has never really been the style of hockey or fan behavior but a burning desire to move the team and a condescending attitude toward what he perceives as the backward, red-necked nature of this part of the world.
A few supporting points for consideration:
1. Because it was an existing franchise, the team was bought at a bargain, half the cost of a new franchise. Let's cry no tears if Revo loses a few thousand this year before his move - he saved $250,000 in buying it in the first place and will get a 1/15th share of Charlotte's and Charleston's 1993 $1 million total entry fees.
2. Revo has owned various minor-league baseball teams over the past few years. One common scenario - he has bought and sold them like junk bonds and moved almost every one.
3. Is it a coincidence that on opening night the promised laser light show was canceled and there was no music, nor even a PA announcer? The place was like a morgue. One would think a new owner in a new city would want a better first-night impression if he planned to stay. The only thing new is a mascot called Rambo that looks like a great big blue cow (a subtle dig based on your perception of our intelligence, Larry?)
4. Revo is from upstate New York; not coincidentally I believe Syracuse is the leading city he is courting for his move.
5. The change of the team name. Folks, I agree that the Confederate battle flag may offend some fans and we should be sensitive to that, but this change was not made in the face of complaints as far as the name itself. Pardon my political incorrectness but I fail to see what's wrong with "Rebels" as a team name. University of Nevada-Las Vegas are the Running Rebels - hardly a bastian of the Confederacy and hardly an impediment to recruiting great players both African-American and otherwise. Please give our area more credit in racial sensitivity.
If you're asking yourself, "Well, even if he really wanted to move the team to begin with, why would the man want to lose fans and money this year?" The answer is more simple than it appears: The league will have to vote on the move. Remember, Roanoke was a founding franchise and our previous owner was responsible for the birth of the league. There is a certain tradition of and proper gratitude and respect for the Roanoke franchise. Furthermore, they know Revo wants to move the team to a location over 400 miles from all but one league city, increasing travel expense considerably for all the teams in the league. (Birmingham to Syracuse in mid-winter on a bus? Right!) It seems to me that in order to get the league to okay the move, Revo will have to paint a very bleak picture in Vinton. He's painting that canvas in his office right now, and in my opinion his negotiations with the Civic Center and Mac McCadden are just intricate brash strokes. What better way to do so than to do everything possible, subtly I admit, to make the team a miserable failure? This tactic is not without precedent in minor-league sports, and every true hockey fan has seen the film Slapshot - the story of which revolves around a similar ownership ploy.
So, what can we do to keep a professional hockey team here in Southwestern Virginia? Mac McCadden is a true hero and on the right track, but I fear he is also cruelly being taken for a ride.
Yes, he's right the LancerLot is too small to turn a consistent profit and less than ideally located and that the business community and media could do much more to support our area professional team. But these are not insurmountable problems and the [Roanoke] Civic Center is a great first step to answering these concerns. At the same time we need to show that Revo is very wrong that Roanoke doesn't truly support good, hard-hitting aggressive hockey and [that] he is wrong if he thinks a building full of working class Southerners, black and white, can't be loud, supportive and excited and still provide a family atmosphere. (Ever been to an ACC basketball game, Larry?) Let's prove Revo wrong, give him a business reason to stay and the East Coast Hockey League some ammunition to force him to try. The ECHL needs to know the Roanoke Valley still wants hockey.
\ AUTHOR Joseph J. Steffen Jr. , from Blacksburg, is a hockey fan who attends about 20 games a year.