Post by Canton Cougar Fan on Jan 24, 2009 10:14:02 GMT -5
What a ride it has been!
I've had plenty of complaints about how the team has been run in the last few years, but, in this post, I want to remember the positives.
Through the course of the last four years, I've only missed two Legends home games, but I've more than made up for it on road trips. I've rode on the bus with the players, stayed in the same hotel, went out on appearances with the team and basically been a part of the franchise. If you have your franchise, I encourage you to get involved at a high level. You will learn many useful things and meet some great people. There are some people I want to call out as the heart and soul of the Legends.
First, another man who has been there from the beginning. Rejoiced with every win and felt the losses like a punch in the gut. Tim "Picman" Smith did a lot of great work for that team and probably was not appreciated as much as he should have been. Thanks Tim.
Although the team won the championship in year 2, the most fun I ever had was in year 3. Coach Ed Korns took that franchise as his own and was making it work with pride, accountability and integrity as GM. He's a good man who did an awesome job under the circumstances and it's my great pleasure to call him a friend.
Also, Paul Cipar an owner who was with us in '06 & '07. Thanks Paul.
Also in year three, we had a front office staff that was second to none in this league. Every one of them placed the good of the team in front of their own agendas.
Players? We had players! Some that come to mind:
JoJo Polk
JR Cipra
Keven Mason
Doug Schwaberow
Rob Hannah
Cody Smith
Chris Archie
Dan Larlham
DeForest Hart
Jon McClain
Randy Knapp
and others
Thanks to all the former Legends players who welcomed me and my family as part of the team.
Unsung hero: Renee Waterson our trainer. Awesome job.
This may be a shocker, but I also want to thank Joe Hoffman for allowing us to be part of it. We disagreed a great deal and eventually parted because of it, but I still respect what he was trying to do, even if I didn't agree with the method.
Lastly, thanks to that hard core, day in and day out group of fans we have in Canton. I know it hurts now, but remember the good times. Remember the night we harassed the Heroes with the Kleenex and the baby bottles. Remember the Erie rivalry. Remember that, even though Erie coined the phrase "UNO", we brought it to life!
Nobody wanted to come and play in Canton. Just the way a home field should be. Thanks to you ... us ... the fans.
I've had plenty of complaints about how the team has been run in the last few years, but, in this post, I want to remember the positives.
Through the course of the last four years, I've only missed two Legends home games, but I've more than made up for it on road trips. I've rode on the bus with the players, stayed in the same hotel, went out on appearances with the team and basically been a part of the franchise. If you have your franchise, I encourage you to get involved at a high level. You will learn many useful things and meet some great people. There are some people I want to call out as the heart and soul of the Legends.
First, another man who has been there from the beginning. Rejoiced with every win and felt the losses like a punch in the gut. Tim "Picman" Smith did a lot of great work for that team and probably was not appreciated as much as he should have been. Thanks Tim.
Although the team won the championship in year 2, the most fun I ever had was in year 3. Coach Ed Korns took that franchise as his own and was making it work with pride, accountability and integrity as GM. He's a good man who did an awesome job under the circumstances and it's my great pleasure to call him a friend.
Also, Paul Cipar an owner who was with us in '06 & '07. Thanks Paul.
Also in year three, we had a front office staff that was second to none in this league. Every one of them placed the good of the team in front of their own agendas.
Players? We had players! Some that come to mind:
JoJo Polk
JR Cipra
Keven Mason
Doug Schwaberow
Rob Hannah
Cody Smith
Chris Archie
Dan Larlham
DeForest Hart
Jon McClain
Randy Knapp
and others
Thanks to all the former Legends players who welcomed me and my family as part of the team.
Unsung hero: Renee Waterson our trainer. Awesome job.
This may be a shocker, but I also want to thank Joe Hoffman for allowing us to be part of it. We disagreed a great deal and eventually parted because of it, but I still respect what he was trying to do, even if I didn't agree with the method.
Lastly, thanks to that hard core, day in and day out group of fans we have in Canton. I know it hurts now, but remember the good times. Remember the night we harassed the Heroes with the Kleenex and the baby bottles. Remember the Erie rivalry. Remember that, even though Erie coined the phrase "UNO", we brought it to life!
Nobody wanted to come and play in Canton. Just the way a home field should be. Thanks to you ... us ... the fans.
