SPECIAL ENTRY: JULY 16, 1991--THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED Kinda long here, but please indulge me if you would... “Our heads won’t let us proceed…no matter how much our hearts want to.” Those were the chilling words of team co-chairman Bob Hagans at the 11:00AM press conference at which the original Kansas City Comets indoor soccer franchise officially ceased to be. Hagans added, “It’s very difficult for us to accept the fact that the Comets won’t be playing next fall and that Kansas City has once again lost a major-league sports franchise.” Ironically, precisely 15 years and one day earlier, the NHLs Kansas City Scouts ceased to be and announced they were moving to Denver on July 15, 1976. The Comets last rites were also attended by Doug McLagan, Chris Duke and Jim Schwab, and Schwabbie said afterward, “When I came here today, I thought it was for good news. I’m shocked. It was such a big part of my life. Now it’s gone.” I was just as confused as Jim was: Why in blue blazes did they postpone the execution the day before just to do it a day later? More on that shortly… Before I go off on a rant, here are reactions from then-current and former Comets players and fellow travelers at the time: Kim Roentved: “I’m in shock. It’s a sad sad situation when Kansas City can’t keep a soccer team with all the potential that is there.” Jan Goossens: “I’m upset, but not for myself, but for the city of Kansas City. I’ve been with other franchises that folded in San Jose and Edmonton, and I just moved on. I didn’t care. With this, I feel real bad. I’m close to 33 years old and wanted to finish my career in Kansas City.” Enzo DiPede: “For most of us who have been around from the start and see it now, it’s very depressing. My opinion was the league was going to struggle, but not the Comets.” Alan Mayer: “It’s a shame. The Comets do a lot for the community, more so than any team in the league. I thought other teams might fold before the Comets.” Then-St. Louis Storm head coach Don Popovic: “I never thought Kansas City would fold. I still can’t understand how it could happen. They’ve always been there.” Comets Connection Booster Club leader Norma Sparacino best echoed my personal feeling on the whole thing: “I feel like my best friend died,” and I was inconsolable when I first heard the news. Please understand, I wasn’t naïve enough to believe the team would always be here forever and ever—I knew quite well the reality of the situation, but I never envisioned the M(I)SL existing WITHOUT the Comets. I always assumed if the Comets ever did bite the dust, it would be because the entire league imploded—I never imagined it would happen because the team pulled its own plug. I took the Comets’ demise harder than when I broke up with my first girlfriend six years earlier. Then again, the end of that relationship was, in the words of the Eagles’ Don Henley, “a horrible relief”, but we won’t get into that. I knew the M(I)SL was still running on fumes, but dammit, I wanted to see the Comets take one more shot at a championship, preferably against those damn San Diego Sockers. What infuriated me even further was how freakin’ close they were to moving forward—210 eff-ing thousand dollars! Easy for me to say, I know—it’s not my money—but 200k is chump-change to these corporate types, and to this day I can’t believe they couldn’t have somehow bridged that gap. Comets radio announcer Kevin Wall echoed those sentiments that afternoon during his post-mortem on KMBZ’s “SportsLine” show, saying “I think this was a very doable deal.” It’s not like the Comets were the Minnesota Strikers or LA Lazers, always playing to paltry crowds—this team had a solid (albeit slightly-eroding) fan base. I also think the ownership group panicked and killed this thing too quickly—the team’s letter of credit wasn’t due until July 31st, so they had two more full weeks to find that one last investor to round out the group. I also never understood why they insisted on it being a three-year plan for the Comets, given that the M(I)SL was always a year-to-year proposition at best anyway. Perhaps they could’ve even convinced Chris Clouser and David Schoenstadt to just kick in 5% each. Those two Indian-givers backing out on their original commitments is what killed this thing in the first place. Just to re-cap: When Comets board chairman Clouser took his new corporate muckety-muck gig with Northwest Airlines in the Twin Cities in April, Jack Brozman became the new chairman, then HE left the ownership group unexpectedly after his father died on June 10th. This left Jack’s butt in a sling because of secret loans to a private company controlled by dear ol’ dad. Then on June 28th, acting chairman Herb Kohn announced that Brozman and Clouser were out, as was Schoenstadt, but Bob Hagans picked up Dr. Dave’s 10% share. Schoenstadt’s excuse for bailing was that each member of the group had to guarantee a percentage of the annual $500,000 letter of credit owed to the MSL, and he estimated his share could have ballooned past $100,000. Uh-huh. This is the same guy who thought nothing of paying seven-figures to purchase the New York Arrows eight years earlier while concurrently owning the Comets—I’m just sayin’. In Clouser’s case, I’d like to know what changed between the time he pledged his 10% interest in the club in April and the time he backed out—he’d already taken the job at Northwest, so why was this suddenly an issue after he got to Minneapolis? Maybe he was afraid he couldnt afford extra mukluks for those brutal Minnesota winters, I dunno... To be fair, though, the sad fact was the Comets lost $4.5 million in their last four years of existence—and yet they were considered one the MODEL franchises in the MISL. Many factors went into the downfall of this club, not the least of which was Tim Leiweke’s departure(s), and as he pointed out, “(In) the third year, you couldn’t get a ticket (to a Comets game),” during his watch. Increased ticket prices, lack of television revenue/national exposure and lack of more American-born players were other reasons cited for the team’s demise, not to mention high salaries before the 1988 salary cap was set in place. Former Comets GM Phil Thomas said, “I remember going to league meetings and hear (Wichita Wings coach/president) Roy Turner saying, ‘These guys would come over from Europe and play for $30,000, and we were all paying them $100,000’.” Then there was the annual morbid ritual known as the MISL off-season and the tenuous state of the league every summer. Former Comets VP Kirk Schnurbusch summed that scenario up best: “Every summer it was always a question of whether the league would be there or not. We’d lose two or three months of prime selling time (for season tickets, sponsorships, etc.)…the off-season comes to a standstill.” Oh, by the way, that same day, Jim Gorsek and Kevin Hundelt showed a ton of class by continuing to conduct their Comets-sponsored soccer camps out in Leawood (in 100-degree heat, no less), even though they’d just lost their jobs. My eternal respect was earned by both of them for that. What I wrote in my journal that night still stands, too: “This team meant something to me! It gave me something to hope for, something to have a little faith in. It was refreshing to see a bunch of athletes playing their asses off, not worrying about who’s making more money than who, and how many Ferraris they have. I’d take one wounded Jan Goossens over a hundred Bo Jacksons any day. When I see people forking out $12 for Yogi Berra’s autograph (at card shows, etc.), it makes me wonder about our society. Comet autographs have always been free, plus you could probably get a handshake and a nice chat to boot. I know it’s just a soccer team, and my life will go on, but right now I feel very empty, angry and sad.” I drowned my sorrows by attending the Royals game that night. They beat the Toronto Blue Jays 2-1 in 10 innings. Rah-rah… I also thought of the words of John Lennon that night: The dream is over. What can I say?...Youll just have to carry on...
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 02:50:50 +0000
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