Hockey hooking plenty of new aficionados

By John Lind, Journal staff | Friday, January 09, 2009

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Rapid City residents young and old have quickly become fraught with hockey fever. The Rapid City Rush hockey team, in its inaugural season in the Central Hockey League, has been salvaging what could be an otherwise boring winter for many new fans.

It’s true that many area residents didn’t think hockey would catch on, especially in South Dakota.

“I was skeptical of hockey at first,” said Linda Mohr, a Custer resident and regular game attendee. “But after my first game, I was hooked. It’s such an exciting and fast-paced sport.”

For a region that didn’t have professional hockey before the Rush, fans have caught on to the sport quickly. A trip to a game will give the idea that fans are very attentive to what is happening on the ice. Goals are celebrated, as are power plays (having a one-man advantage for a designated period of time), saves (the goalie stopping the puck) and fights. Fights usually elicit the largest cheer from a crowd.

“Fights add to the intensity of the game and give you a great adrenaline rush,” Mohr said.

The fan base can also heavily identify with the players. Signs go up around the arena not just for the team, but also for individual players.

“The signs can get pretty creative,” said Rebecca Schacht of Rapid City.

The game isn’t all that keeps people coming back for more. Schact, a mother of three boys, acknowledged

that the game is more than just the hockey on ice.

“For three boys to stay entertained, you need a high-energy environment,” Schacht said.

“The hockey is great, but all of the activities outside the ice keep

everyone, especially the kids, entertained. It’s really great to get the fans involved.”

Truly, much of a typical Rush game involves the fans more than anything. Constant music and dance-offs have fans strutting their best stuff, hoping to win one of several prizes given away through the game. Even if they aren’t

selected, there’s always the chance they’ll grace the big JumboTron at the end of the ice arena.

Brady, Schacht’s 10-year-old son, made a note of being pictured on the screen at least four times during one game. “It’s a lot of fun to get wild and dance around,” Brady said.

Schacht added that away from home, “the boys can be as loud as they want.”

The 18 minutes between each of the three periods leave plenty of time to be filled and keep fans entertained. The Rush’s marketing team does just that, staging on-ice contests such as musical chairs, shootouts, sumo wrestling and even a “frozen T-shirt race” here and there. They also stage questionnaires with fans picked at random.

Other fans take part in the around-the-arena “wave,” the “Minute of Madness” and the “Kiss Cam,” which tries to catch couples sitting together in the arena and get them to kiss. Well-placed sound-bites from movies and entertaining graphics on the JumboTron keep fans interested, as well.

“Hockey is an exciting game anyway, but the administration does a great job marketing the team and making games appealing to all ages,” said Dan Amen, a longtime hockey fan.

Amen’s friend, Dan Casanova, also a longtime fan, agrees. “All the new fans realize how much fun hockey is to watch in person. It feels good to be part of a game and part of the team.”

Contact John Lind at 394-8401 or john.lind@rapidcityjournal.com