Owner savouring Rush of excitement
Bruce Urban’s voice was still a little ragged Monday.
The Saskatchewan Rush owner — who hollered his way through Saturday’s 11-10 National Lacrosse League championship win over the visiting Buffalo Bandits — apologized for his rough vocal edges two days later.
The night itself, he’ll never forget.
“Wasn’t that crowd on fire?” Urban said. “It was electric in that building. They’re more than just spectators; they’ve become fans, and there’s a difference.”
A sellout crowd of 15,182 watched the Rush complete a two-game sweep of the Bandits — that final stake to the heart pounded in by Saskatchewan’s Jeff Cornwall, who scored on a breakaway with 12 seconds left in a wild game.
Urban — who made a move both bold and crazy when he shifted his defending-champion Rush from Edmonton to Saskatoon during the off-season — said his own reaction mirrored that of the people packed into the arena.
“I’m just like everybody else,” he said. “My arms were in the air, and I was screaming. I’m a fan, just like any one of the 15,200 in the building.
“I watched it all go down, looking around at every person. There was young and old, people on their feet, in their 70s, with the glow-stick, cheering at the top of their voice. And I thought ‘this is incredible.’”
So no worries, Saskatoon: There’s no plans afoot for another franchise shift, not that the situation needed clarification.
The team was received warmly this season, grew their crowd steadily, and made sell-outs a matter of routine down the stretch.
“And I think people are only going to get more emotionally attached game by game, and season by season,” Urban said.
“A kid and his buddy came up to me, gave me a high-five, they were about 15. I said guys — savour this moment, because years down the road, you’re going to take your kids to a game, as fathers, and you’ll say ‘I was at the first-ever Rush championship game (in Saskatoon) with my friend, and we were cheering and screaming.’ I said this will be in your memory bank; you’ll never forget it. And I know that’s true.”
Urban expects 2017 seasonticket sales to go briskly over the next little while, and he’s already projecting that lower-bowl passes will soon be difficult to obtain. The team plans to stay busy through the off-season, involving themselves in community events and clinics in and around Saskatoon, and to various points across the province as they try to spread their brand.