Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 21, 1995 TAG: 9505230028
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
With baseball, hockey and soccer already having developmental teams here, a good question might be why the Roanoke Valley needs another pro team. And football has been tried before, by the Buckskins and Virginia Hunters, among others whose ashes have been sprinkled at Victory Stadium.
Do fools Rush in again?
``I probably am nuts for trying this,'' said Nick Rush, a Christiansburg businessman, the youngest member of the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors and the general manager of the NMLF franchise. ``I was 23 when I ran for the board of supervisors, and people said I was nuts then, too. I've been nuts before, but it's worked out.''
No, Rush, 27, didn't name the team for himself, although it's the kind of catchy thing that will work in sports these days. Vanity might get you somewhere. The nickname obviously ties into football, although NMLF - with its regular-season opener in mid-August - promises to be more of a pass-and-catch league. ``The name refers to a rush of a adrenaline,'' Rush said.
He also hopes it will bring a Rush toward success when the club begins ticket sales in the next few weeks. Tickets will go on sale early in June at the Roanoke Civic Center box office and through TicketMaster. A season ticket costs $40 for five regular-season home dates and an Aug.5 preseason game. An $82 season ticket for two adults and up to three youths also will be sold. A single-game ticket is $8.
Rush is hoping for an average crowd of 5,000 for the 7 p.m. Saturday kickoffs at Victory Stadium, where the city has cut the Rush a favorable lease with a maximum payment of $1,700 per game. The club wants to sell 1,000 season tickets, and hopes the selected dates - on Saturdays when Virginia Tech isn't home - will help.
``We think Roanoke is the perfect place for this,'' Rush said. ``There's no university in Roanoke, but it's a good football area. We think if we put a good team on the field and have a family atmosphere, people will come out. The game is a product. Football is only part of the attraction.''
The team could name a head coach as early as this week. Rush has several assistants in mind and a list of players - many with Virginia Tech and area small-college histories - who are committed to the club. Tryout combines are scheduled June 3 and June 10 at Roanoke's Washington Park, with registration at 8 a.m. and workouts beginning at 9.
In this first season, some NMLF players will be paid salaries, some won't. One lure is a possible Dec.2 matchup between the Rush and the Atlanta Cannibals at the NMLF's championship Holiday Bowl - although the lawyers for San Diego's Holiday Bowl undoubtedly will have something to say about that name.
Also, NMLF has a player development agreement with the Federation of Italian-American Football. The top 100 players will be made available to the Italian pro league in a December draft. The Italian league pays players up to $10,000 a month, plus provides use of a home, a car and round-trip airfare from the United States.
The Rush will play in NMLF's Mid-Atlantic Division, also home to the Delaware Warlocks, (Charleston) West Virginia Lightning, Chambersburg (Pa.) Cardinals and two Washington franchises, the Chiefs - no relation to the Redskins - and the Stonewalls.
The Rush is the only Virginia franchise in the league, which also includes the New Jersey Giants - no, not the ones of the NFC East, but those of Paterson. The league will use NFL rules, including two-point conversions and overtime. The league also has an advisory board of former NFL players. It will use a Spalding ball of smaller girth than one used by the NFL and American colleges, to enhance passing and receiving.
The Rush is looking for a mascot and already has plans for a dance team - the Gold Rush - and what the club organizer calls ``the world's greatest tailgate party'' starting two hours before Victory Stadium games.
It's called the ``Rush Hour.''
And if Rush needs a really big promotion, maybe he can coax a guy named Limbaugh to come to town and draw up a few plays. No doubt, they'd Rush to the right.
by CNB