Philadelphia Wings bring victory to city

By Melissa Mongi
Collegian Reporter
March 29, 2006

Philadelphia is home to the Wings, an indoor lacrosse team that has won six World Championships. As a Philadelphia sports fan that has seen more disappointments than she would like to admit, I can only ask further, “Where have they been all my life?” The answer is Philadelphia’s Wachovia Center.

On Saturday, the Philadelphia Wings went head-to-head with the Arizona Sting. However, the success of the Wings began 20 years ago because of two sports and entertainment visionaries.

Chris Fritz was a concert promoter when he met Russ Cline, a former Kansas City Chiefs Executive. In 1984, the two partnered up to develop new entertainment and sporting events. After seeing a video of the 1974-1975 Philadelphia Wings indoor lacrosse team, Fritz and Cline knew that they had just found a cutting edge sport to promote. The National Lacrosse League was formed soon after. Although the two sold the league in 1997, they have stayed the owners of the Philadelphia Wings, and are considered leaders within the league.

The Wings’ cheerleaders, otherwise known as Angels, readied the crowd for an exciting game before the players were announced. Much like a La Salle basketball game, with more lighting and special effects, the crowd knew to scream “sucks” after each member’s name on the opposing team was read. Packing a bigger crowd than most Phillies’ games could garner, the Wings could not have asked for a more excited group. The Wachovia center was filled with devoted fans in a sport that, to the average person, may not seem so popular.

From the very beginning of the game, the players sprinted hard and fast. The game, engaging and entertaining, never slowed down. The offensive and defensive strings were constantly waiting and ready to jump into action, and the audience watched intently, praying for the ball to slide past the goalie.

The Philadelphia Wings bring a whole lot of action and excitement to an afternoon. The atmosphere of the arena is much more enjoyable than some larger sporting events. The announcer, as most do, would boldly scream “Goal!” when the Wings would score. The crowd would scream, and spell, “W.-I- N.-G.-S. Wings!”

Yet, there were moments of monotone disgust from the announcer whenever the opposing team, the Arizona Sting, scored. Equally as disappointed as the fans, the announcer would sullenly state, “Bad-guy goal.” He followed up this sad announcement by giving the statistics of the opposing scorer quickly and almost under his breath. This added a bit of sass and immaturity to an otherwise professionally played game.

La Salle senior and Wachovia Center intern, Mary Nubla, was surprised at the lack of violence at this past weekend’s game.

“Usually, there are more fights that break out,” Nubla said. To a beginner at indoor lacrosse viewing, the game seemed rough enough to put other sports to shame.

Although the Wings were down by one point, 12-13, that didn’t bring the crowd and energy down, as they chanted loud and proud during the final seconds of the game. Although the score remained the same, the fans left happy for the experience, exciting afternoon of good lacrosse playing and ready for the next game.

Flashy lights, sarcastic announcers, a fierce team, and violence: what else could a sports fan want? Fortunately, the Wings are not done their season at the Wachovia Center. This weekend, Saturday, April 1, a bus trip from the Hayman Center is scheduled to leave at 6:15 p.m. to watch the Philadelphia Wings battle the Rochester Knighthawks. If you want a first-hand experience of the Philadelphia Wings, make sure to reserve your ticket in Union 307 (Programming Center) with a $5 deposit.

mongim1@lasalle.edu