Memoirs of Herbert: The Willie O'Ree Experience

Right now Coach Ambroziak is finalizing the signing of players, whom will be announced soon.  In the meantime, I am going to update the blog with memories from the past season.  If you want me to write an anecdote about something or simply have something to say, don't hesitate to leave a comment.  If you want to write something for me to post, just send it to HerbertKyles@gmail.com. Superfan Rob Vitek and I thought it would be a good idea to write some stories about fan interactions, so I figured I would post one today.  It's my first game memory of the Renegades.

First off, shoutout to Willie O'Ree.  He's the man, the myth and the legend.  Now on with the memory.

Throughout all levels of hockey, from youth to professional, coaches speak about "Home Ice Advantage".  While many people point directly to ice and rink conditions for advantages (for example-Tulsa's midget glass and odd rink measurements, El Paso's lively boards or our well below room temperature arena), players always notice something outside of the ice surface.  The crowd.

I remember after our grand opening, Willie O'Ree weekend against Tulsa, Vinny DiCarlo came up to me before they boarded the bus.  DiCarlo and I spoke for a little bit (we met when he came to KC to train) and he commented that especially for an expansion team, we had an awesome crowd that cheered us on.

I knew we had great fans who supported us. It was evident when I let up my 2nd goal after a brutal across the body 1st goal (I think I was still starstruck by Willie); The fan behind my goal gave me the stay strong fist clench (I knew he didn't want to fight me because he didn't pound the boards Rob Vitek style) and kept me going.

Then we fought back to 4-3 and the fans were going nuts.  I think Cindy Pyle screamed really loud because all of a sudden sparks flew from Cody Miller's skates and in announcer lingo he went "Top Shelf...Where Mama Hides the Cookies!"

 We all thought the stars had aligned; Fans were jumping up and down like kids in a chocolate facotry.  Well, not so much, as the refs disallowed the goal for reasons unknown to the rest of the world.  I thought Rob Vitek was going to burst through the glass onto the ice, like The Hulk but angrier.

At the time, I was furious at myself because that game would have been 3-3 if I Kevin Blair had been our goaltending coach at the time.  His tagline of "HERBIE!  KEEP. YOUR. GLOVE. UP!" replays through my mind to this day.

This memory is a special one of the Renegades fan base, and if I can make it out there for the Home Opener, I look forward to seeing what it is like this year.  If Colton keeps his glove up and the forwards finish on their chances, the Texas Brahmas are in for a long night.