THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 26, 1995 TAG: 9510260587
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Tom Robinson
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
Any league unpretentious enough to let two teams use the same nickname is all right by me. So I say let's go for this Canadian Football League thing despite the obvious baggage, the main piece being that the league seems to be dying a tedious death.
The CFL is bleeding money in all 13 of its cities, from Ottawa, where the Rough Riders play, to Saskatchewan, where the Roughriders play, to Shreveport, USA, where the Pirates apparently are ready to set sail for musty old Foreman Field.
Even in Baltimore, where fans originally swarmed over the Stallions to show that they by God deserve another NFL team, interest has waned.
You're thinking that maybe the CFL's not the best place for somebody with big bucks to put his dough. And you're right. But that's Lonie Glieberman's problem. If the 27-year-old Michigan guy thinks Hampton Roads is the place for him and his franchise, let him come.
Of course, in the past few years Glieberman swore Ottawa and Shreveport were for him, too. He failed in both.
So when Glieberman tosses out his cheese, promising a team for 10,000 orders of as-yet unpriced season tickets, we can appreciate that a psuedo-major league sports presence has recognized our hunger, if not our clumsy desperation, for a big league team.
Still, it's wise to sniff around a bit.
We know the CFL is teetering financially - it reportedly will lose more than $30 million this season. We know Glieberman, backed by his ultra-rich developer father, Bernie, has yet to show any aptitude for running a sports franchise. We know that the CFL's venture into the United States, which began three years ago, has been a bust.
And we know that the Pirates stink, though they have ``names'' for a coach in NFL Hall of Famer Forrest Gregg and another NFL exile, Billy Joe Tolliver, at quarterback.
Yet by welcoming these nomads, what do we have to lose if things don't fly long-term? Not much, really. And think of what it would do for our geography skills, what with combing the map for Winnipeg and Hamilton. Memphis and Birmingham, for that matter.
Save for whatever we spend on tickets and trinkets, I'd be surprised if any money that goes toward getting the team situated is municipal. Assuming Old Dominion athletic director Jim Jarrett doesn't hold up Glieberman for a Monarchs' ransom and they sign a lease, Foreman Field still will have to undergo a significant renovation posthaste. I'd expect that to come out of Glieberman's pocket.
And say the CFL disintegrates before Glieberman gets Virginia Beach or somebody to build him the stadium he needs. (Expanding Harbor Park is an option maybe?) We'll at least have had a couple years of entertainment from the likes of Doug Flutie and maybe a couple other players somebody's actually heard of.
Those years also would pad our resume as an awakening sports town, for whomever might be watching. Through the Tides and Admirals - who ironically could be hurt by season-overlap with the Pirates - this market has built momentum as one that can rally behind a pro sports product, minor league though it be.
In the larger economic development picture, Nordstrom's is betting we're upper-crust shoppers. Cellar Door and Virginia Beach say we'll shell out $50 a throw to see Elton John at their amphitheatre. The Phantom of the Opera road show, which isn't going just any place, chose Norfolk as a venue.
We're getting there, and support of Glieberman's team won't hurt. Except perhaps in our hearts if and when he pulls up stakes again. MEMO: Published article left off the reporter's byline.
by CNB