THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 7, 1997 TAG: 9701070390
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Tom Robinson
LENGTH: 63 lines
There are no two ways about it. For pro soccer fans around here, it won't be heaven in '97.
Their team, the Hampton Roads Mariners, is in mothballs, on hiatus, until 1998 when a suitable home for USISL A League soccer in Virginia Beach is ready.
Their players, whom the fans take under their wings and into their homes for picnics and such, will be scattered about ``on loan'' to other teams, endearing themselves to new communities and families.
Their free time will be ample, their summertime entertainment quotient lacking. No soccer and, egad, no Soccerhead! What's a loyal Mariners mate - and they are the mate-iest - to do?
``We were just talking about that the other day,'' said Judy Hanna, who along with her husband Bruce, sold T-shirts and other novelties at Mariners games as volunteers. ``I don't know what we're going to do. Maybe go to some of those TGI Friday things. And we like to boat and fish.''
Porgy and bass are lean substitutes, though, when corner kicks and headers are what you really crave. But because First Colonial High School's stadium cannot house top minor league soccer, and because the proposed Lake Ridge stadium still awaiting final City Council approval will take about a year to build, the Mariners had no choice but to go dormant.
That doesn't mean they've turned out the lights or nailed the windows shut. A phone call Monday morning caught Shawn McDonald, the coach and general manager, in the Mariners' office, working on his plan to bridge now with later and keep the Mariners alive in spirit.
``We're going to do lots of camps and clinics,'' said McDonald, one of the Mariners' two full-time employees; marketing director Deanne Farrow is the other. ``The few players we have in the area, we'll try to utilize them and keep the name going, use them as an educational source for youth players.''
The Mariners own the rights to 11 players, McDonald said, and many of them will be loaned to other teams for this season. He is hopeful they'll want to remain as Mariners when the club moves up in status and salary scale next year.
Filling out that first A League team will eat up much of McDonald's time this summer. He won't be coaching, but he plans to catch plenty of USISL action with his talent evaluator hat on. He'll process the players he likes, check on their contract availability, then pursue his favorites with the full faith and credit of owner Mark Garcea's checkbook.
``Once the new stadium comes about, I think they'll want to play here,'' McDonald said. ``This is a popular area. ... Unless they understand why we did what we did, there could be some concern that we're not healthy. But once they realize that we're waiting for a new facility, and if you're going to offer them a good contract, people will come. Good players want to play for a good organization.''
The fans, too, have to realize that, though the void will be great, a year apart is the best thing.
``The prospects of being in a higher-class league, and the prospects of getting all the way to (Major League Soccer), are good,'' said Gary Glenn, co-chairman of the Mariners' booster club. ``If a one-year wait is what it takes, that's great, it's worth it.''
With no Mariners this summer, Glenn plans to get his soccer kicks one of his favorite ways, by playing in an over-30 league. Those who don't play can watch the MLS on cable, pray the stadium deal gets done, and dream of the possibilities that might await in '98.