A true fan
Mauro (Stats) Corazza has made an impression while letting everyone inside the Eastlink Centre know ‘whose house’ it is during Island Storm games
Mauro Corazza thought the Island Storm needed a boost.
Five years ago, the Cornwall native affectionally known as Stats came up with a slogan for the National Basketball League (NBL) of Canada squad after watching the success of the Toronto Raptors ‘We The North’ campaign.
“I said, ‘You know what? When visiting teams come to the Eastlink Centre, it’s our house, it’s our house. This is our team, this is where we play,’” he said before Sunday’s contest with the Halifax Hurricanes.
The slogan was born. “Whose house?” he’ll ask rhetorically during the games. “Our house,” the fans reply. It stuck.
And it has worked. “There’s no question it gives you a spark,” Storm head coach Tim Kendrick said. “I don’t think any player, or any coach, can deny that. Some will say they don’t hear the crowd, and things like that. And, you know what, maybe you don’t hear them all the time, but when you’re down and you really need a lift, you sure do hear them, and you feed off of them.”
Corazza was born and raised in Trail, B.C., and worked in the NHL as an off-ice official doing statistics at Calgary Flames’ games. That is where his nickname was born.
It was also in Calgary he met
his wife, Kathy, a Kinkora native. The couple moved back to the Island in 1991.
Corazza, who recently retired from Kent Building Supplies, is leaving today to fly to Surrey, B.C., to spend some time with his brother.
“Then I’m off to Trail, B.C., to spend quality time with my mom, who will be 94 in three weeks’ time,” he said.
Corazza is unsure how long his temporary absence from Storm games will be, but the NBL club
sent him off in style on Sunday. He served as an honorary coach for the game, sitting with the coaching staff on the bench and interacting with the team.
“Today is kind of an emotional day for me,” Corazza said a few metres away from the bench before the game. “It’s quite an honour.”
It was a well-deserved recognition for a man, who has been there through thick and thin, wins and losses.
Corazza can be heard throughout
the Eastlink Centre on game days. He doesn’t use a microphone or a loud speaker.
“There’s a lot of Listerine, a lot of gargling the next morning, but I do it for the love of the game,” he said. “I get really attached to the players and the coaching staff. I’m just a loyal, dedicated fan.”
He remembered Wade Babineau providing a spark to the hockey teams over the years as Conehead.
“I just come as myself and I just want to get the crowd into the game, give a little bit of support to the players, if we’re down or we’re up.”
Seeing the other side of the game Sunday was “quite the experience.”
“To be down there and to listen to how the coach talks to each individual when they come off the floor,” he said. “Even when they do make a mistake, the players don’t get down on each other. It’s like they’re jelling together.”
While Corazza will be on the West Coast, he still plans to follow the team. But those 2 p.m. Sunday matinees will mean a 10 a.m. tip-off for him.
“I hope it doesn’t cut into church,” he smiled. “I wish nothing but success to this organization, to the players and the management.”
It will leave a big hole in the game-day experience.
“We’re going to miss him,” Kendrick said. “Now we need . . . some real positive fans to step up and take his place.”
While the Storm gave the fans what they wanted on Sunday – a win – Corazza gave them one more reason to stand up and cheer.
With about 1:53 left on the clock, and a comfortable lead, Corazza said those two words he is known for one more time. “Whose house?”
“It felt wonderful,” he said, noting the fans reaction. “It’s going to be something that I will cherish for a long, long time.”