The Rampage hosted the event for their season ticket holders prior to a hockey game between the Grand Rapids Griffins and the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League. Rampage fans were able to pick up their season ticket package for the 2007 season and each ticket account received an authentic Arena football with the team’s 10th anniversary logo on it. Season ticket holders were provided with free tickets to the hockey game.

I am not a big hockey fan myself, so it was a little strange for me so see a hockey field instead of a gridiron and rebound nets at the Van Andel. In fact, the last time that I was at a Griffins game was back in January of 2002 when the Rampage were presented with their championship rings after winning ArenaBowl XV. Following the ring presentation, that took place between the first and second periods of the game on the ice, the players and coaches that were in attendance signed autographs in one of the Van Andel Arena’s conference rooms. Fans could also get their picture taken with the ArenaBowl trophy, which was also on display that night.

Rampage head coach Sparky McEwen said yesterday that fans can expect to see a much better team this season than they’ve seen in recent years. “You never want to have a product on the field that your fans and supports are not proud of,” said McEwen. “The last couple of years I’ve been very proud of our group, but it was unfortunate that we ran into as many injuries as we did and we didn’t have a stable quarterback situation. Now, a lot of those things have been taken care of with the exception of (FB/LB) Chris Avery, who is out for the year. That one hurts. He is a tremendous player.” Avery tore an ACL on the first day of training camp.

The Rampage are just a few days away from finalizing their roster for the start of the season. The first game is on Sunday, March 4 on the road against the Colorado Crush. Win or lose, the team will have to recover quickly because their first home game comes just four days later on Thursday night, March 8 as they host the Las Vegas Gladiators.   

New Look Rampage

The Rampage will be sporting a new look this season. The black helmets that have been worn since 2000 have been replace by silver helmets with red face masks. Coach McEwen suggested the change and had a significant amount of input in the new design. The League ultimately had the final say in approving the new look. 

You can catch a glimpse of the new helmets and uniforms by going to the team’s official web site, RampageFootball.com. Once there, click on Fan Zone and then select Audio/Video from the drop down menu. You will be able to view the team’s recent Super Bowl XLI commercial (featuring wide receiver Timon Marshall) and another video clip taken during a recent practice session.

Hall of Fame Exhibit

The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio will unveil a permanent Arena Football League exhibit on February 26. It will chronicle the history of the League and have several interactive features.