A Community Celebrates
Mark Hodges
Wednesday August 15, 2001
In addition to having all four of the major sports in the minor leagues, the teams in Grand Rapids have had their share of success. The Griffins have had a habit of winning seasons, making the final four in the now defunct International Hockey League two seasons in a row. The Hoops made the finals last year in the I.B.L. before falling to St. Louis. The Whitecaps have won championships.
Now, the Rampage can be added as championship contender. However, this one is being treated differently. There is so much more interest, more excitement, and more anticipation this time.
Every day the local newspaper is filled with articles about Grand Rapids being the stage for the Arena Football League’s biggest game. Rallies have been planned up until the big game, including a street party before and after the Arenabowl itself. A major celebration has been planned for Saturday in the major park downtown. Local restaurants are filled with people discussing the big game, asking questions and planning parties around the contest (I should know, because I work at one of the more popular ones).
There is much more here than excitement cooked up by the press and the promotion wheels of the Rampage and the AFL. There is a genuine excitement in the community about Arenabowl XV invading the Van Andel Arena. The local tickets sold out quickly, with a lot of fans forced to watch the game from their living rooms courtesy ABC. The die-hard fans are all but ravenous, the casual fans are developing some major interest in the team, and the non-fans are even following the team’s progress now.
In the Arena Football League, the city of Grand Rapids has stood toe to toe with New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, and many other much larger communities, and has risen to the cream of the crop. The community now sees the Rampage as a source of pride rather than the bastardization of football as was thought by many a few years back. The Rampage have brought Grand Rapids national exposure, a legitimacy as a sports city that the other minor league championship efforts have not.
Grand Rapids may be the smallest city in the Arena Football League, but it has the biggest heart. That heart became evident when Arenabowl XV sold out faster than any other AFL championship game in the league’s history.
A microcosm of the sports world is now focused on Grand Rapids. And Grand Rapids is ready to shine.
Mark Hodges was a writer for ArenaFan Online from 2001 to 2002.
