Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Chant drawing attention to 'NiceRays'

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Sunday, November 14, 1999

Chant drawing attention to 'NiceRays'

By Mark Button
Caller-Times

About a half hour after Lubbock beat Corpus Christi, 7-5, last Thursday, a group of five or six Cotton Kings players stood in disbelief outside the Igloo's media room.
   They were talking about the big news in the Corpus Christi hockey scene.
   They were talking about the IceRays fans.
   They were talking about the chant.
   The visiting players agreed they had never seen anything like it: Fans being ejected for taunting the opposing goalie and scores of other fans walking out of the game in protest of the ejections.
   "This is incredible," one Lubbock player said. "I have heard much worse than (the chant). We expect that kind of stuff from the fans when we visit their town."
   True, annoying antics such as the controversial chant earned Memorial Coliseum the Western Professional Hockey League's 1998-99 award for "Most Intimidating Building."
   The league intended it to be a compliment.
   This year, the IceRays say they are promoting a family atmosphere, one with new rules that must be followed if fans want to remain in the building.
   They still sell beer and make a buck off a beer company sponsorship of fights during the game, so it is a very particular family atmosphere fans are asked to observe.
   Critics of the policy, which seem to be growing game-by-game judging by the increasing numbers of them that are ejected, have taken to calling the team the "NiceRays."
   Last year's IceRays fans, who sold out the coliseum for all 35 home games, were named the league's best. Now, because of the IceRays management's crackdown on this chant, a significant and vocal segment of the WPHL's best fans have are becoming some of the league's angriest fans.
   At least 18 fans have been ejected for hollering the chant - heard throughout the WPHL with no repercussions in other buildings - which begins when fans yell out the opposing goalie's last name in a sing-song style then punctuate it with, "You suck!"
   Earlier in the week, a story from the National Football League reported that the league withdrew a television advertisement featuring a rap song that contains references to teen suicide, drugs, rape and drunken driving.
   Even though the sound bites in the ad itself contained none of the references, the NFL pulled the plug on the commercial.
   "The lyrics are drastic," NFL spokesman Chris Widmaier said. "There was never any intent for association between a harmless spot back to the lyrics of this song."
   So it isn't just Corpus Christi that has issues with sensitivity in professional sports.
   The difference is that while the NFL may have worked its way out of the issue, the IceRays seem to be digging the hole deeper with a segment of their fan base.
   In a "joint franchise decision," IceRays general manager Bill Davidson said the chant will not be tolerated, reversing an earlier stance when he said fans were ejected for consuming too much of the beer sold at games.
   Fans are now clearly being ejected for chanting what the IceRays now refer to as "the S-Word Chant."
   League president Rick Kozuback said he has no problem with the chant. Davidson indicated the league's stance wasn't the point. The point, mentioned in a press release last week, is that the IceRays have a problem with the S-Word Chant.
   "We do ask (the fans) to refrain from the use of obscene words and to be considerate to those fans that are nearby that may be offended by such language," the released stated.
   Corpus Christi - home of the S-Word controversy.
   SALE STILL DRAGGING: The Central Texas Stampede has still not finalized the sale of the franchise to a local businessman.
   The players, who early in the season walked out of practice in protest of the slow sale, have gone back to work and will not miss any more practices, a team official said.
   "They're close to finishing the sale," Stampede public relations director Jeff Bowerman said. "The players are OK. They're frustrated about the timetable because we're operating at a less than optimal state. They're hanging in there, though. They are professionals and their objective is to win games. If they can keep doing that, they'll be fine."
   HOME, FINALLY: Two WPHL teams finally had their home openers last week.
   Shreveport and Waco, at long last, felt a home-ice advantage. It worked for the Wizards: They're 2-0 at home. Shreveport found that it is just as bad at home as it on the road.
   State fairs and other booked dates moved the home-opening dates back for both teams.


Mark Button can be reached at 886-3613 or by e-mail at buttonm@caller.com

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