|
| |
|
|
|
Fury on the soccer front |
|
|
Written by Ted Clarke
Citizen staff
|
|
Wednesday, 04 November 2009 |
Tina and John Mehrassa pull the blanket off the new logo of the Prince George Fury indoor soccer team. The Fury begins its first season in the CMISL, Jan. 9 at CN Centre. (Citizen photo by Brent Braaten)
Get ready Prince George, the Fury is about to be unleashed.
The city’s first professional sports franchise unveiled its nickname and logo Wednesday at CN Centre, where the team will play its games this season in the Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League.
“We were kicking around about 50 names while we were watching a practice a the Roll-A-Dome and we were quite amazed at the furious pace,” said team majority owner John Mehrassa. “Fury was one of the suggested names and that’s how it started.”
Adam Mohl of Prince George made that suggestion and won the name-the-team contest. He will receive two season’s tickets as a result.
Mohl also had a hand in designing the team logo, which depicts a rotating ball set over the background of a blue and white shield, with the name “Fury,” across the bottom. The Fury’s team colours will be blue and white.
“It’s a good, catchy name -- it creates a good buzz for the city and I think people will identify with the team,” said Fury head coach Sipho Sibiya.
Tryouts began Monday at the Roll-A-Dome and the team held another two-hour session Wednesday night for close to 40 players. A final tryout is scheduled for Saturday, from 8-10 p.m.
“We’re pretty excited with the number of players who showed up,” said Sibiya. “There are a lot of new faces, plus players who were here last year in the Showcase games. We still want to bring a couple players in for their experience, but we might not have to bring in as many as I thought because of the talent we’ve got here.
“We’ll see how they can adapt to the indoor game in a matter of two months (before the season begins). You have to teach them the game and I look forward to the challenge.”
The Fury roster will be set at 18, The fight for positions will continue throughout the season, with a maximum of 13 players allowed to dress for each game. Reserves will be needed with back-to-back games scheduled hours apart from each other through most of the 12-game season.
Matt Mehrassa and defender Scott DeBianchi both played six games in the CMISL last season for the Saskatoon Accelerators, with Sibiya as head coach.
“The league is a higher level than I had ever played before and it was a great experience,” Matt Mehrassa said. “The selection (of players) is obviously great in bigger cities in the league but with what I’ve seen in the tryouts, we will be a competitive team.”
The Fury will face the Tacoma Stars in the season-opening doubleheader, Saturday, Jan. 9 at CN Centre. Other home dates include Jan. 20 (Wenatchee Fire) and Feb. 14 (Edmonton Drillers). The teams will play doubleheaders on those days, with the first game starting at 2 p.m. and the nightcap to follow at 7:30. Prince George will play six road games, visiting Tacoma (Jan. 16), Wenatchee (Jan. 17), Edmonton (Feb. 6), Calgary (Feb. 7) and Winnipeg (Feb. 21-22).
Ticket prices were also announced Wednesday. Season tickets will range from $80 (adults) to $60 (seniors and students) and $40 (kids 12-and-under).
Single-day passes good for both games of the doubleheader will also be sold for $25, $20 and $15. Single-game tickets will be $15, $12 and $10. Kids aged two-and-under will be admitted free.
DeBianchi and Matt Mehrassa, both
23, were B.C. Colleges Athletic Association all-stars this season, playing outdoor soccer for the UNBC Northern Timberwolves. Both played for the Prince George team in a two-game Indoor Soccer Showcase Challenge exhibition series at CN Centre against the Edmonton Drillers in April 2008 -- and 3,686 people came out to watch. They are counting on gaining even bigger crowd numbers the first season to make the Fury thrive.
“I think Prince George will set a precedent in the league as far as fan support goes,” said Matt Mehrassa. “If you look at UNBC basketball, where you get 2,000 people a game, I know Prince George loves a winning team and I think people will connect with this team.”
Prince George has nearly 4,000 soccer players in its outdoor leagues and DeBianchi said that gives the Fury a solid base from which to draw a faithful following.
“With all the players we have in youth soccer, we should be able to get a lot of younger kids to our games,” said DeBianchi. “If we can get them coming out with their parents and families it would be awesome.
“People just need to give it a chance and they’ll like it. It’s a fast-paced game, with lots of goals, penalties and power plays and lots of action. I know that people will be impressed.”
For more information on the Fury, go to www.princegeorgefc.com.
 |
|
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 04 November 2009 )
|
|
|
Who's Online
We have 124 guests and 13 members online
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
