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Thursday, August 7, 2008
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Saving the best for last Record-breaking crowd attends Blue Thunder finale Staff Writer The Brainerd Blue Thunder drew their largest crowd ever at a home game Wednesday night, the last Brainerd game of the season.
While the team didn't beat Alexandria's single-game attendance mark of 2,046 fans, which was the Blue Thunder's goal for "Pack the Park Night," it did attract 1,875 fans.
"It was a goal we set and we knew it was going to be tough but I'm not disappointed," Jason Huskey, team owner/general manager, said of not beating the Northwoods League single-game attendance record. "It's as full here as I've ever seen it. It's nice to have this crowd. I wish it was the first game (of the season.)"
Huskey said this was the largest crowd at a game during the past four seasons that Blue Thunder has been in Brainerd. He also believed it was the largest crowd in recent years, including during the time that the Brainerd Bears, Bobcats and Mighty Gulls were in town.
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The famous Budweiser Clydesdales were on hand Wednesday before the Brainerd Blue Thunder's final home game of the season. The gargantuan horses were available for photos before the game and even made a trip around the field with a stop directly in front of the stands.
Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey
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The biggest draw - besides watching the hometown team beat the St. Cloud River Bats 16-3 - was the Budweiser Clydesdales, which posed for photographs and took a lap around the field, stopping at home plate before the game.
Other attractions included autographs and pictures with Pro Stock driver Dave Connolly, who will compete in the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd this weekend, and photographs with Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 88 car. Connolly also threw out the first pitch.
The early summer weather and nearby Mill Avenue road construction wreaked havoc on attendance numbers this season at Blue Thunder games. Huskey said of the 34 home games, the team had 29 games with nearby road construction constraints, two complete rainouts and six games where it rained and play was suspended.
Huskey said the team averaged attendance in the low 300s all season, but the last five games held with no detours or rain resulted in attendance numbers of between 450-800 fans, excluding Thursday's record-breaking game.
Huskey said he's "very optimistic" that the Blue Thunder will be around next year but that's up to the Northwoods League. He said the team "finished strong" financially at the end of this season but has had problems meeting its budget because of low attendance numbers.
Huskey said it won't be known until after Aug. 31 if the team will be back. He said he believes, particularly with the strong attendance numbers on Thursday, that the team could average 1,000 fans a night, especially with draws like the Budweiser Clydesdales which help bring more families to the games.
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A record-breaking crowd of 1,875 Wednesday at the last home game of the season cheered on the Brainerd Blue Thunder at Mills Field. Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey
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"This is a good way to send the message we need to be here," Huskey said of Thursday's attendance.
Nearly a dozen young boys, many wearing Little League shirts, stood behind the fence next to the Blue Thunder dugout waiting to chase after stray baseballs or knock knuckles with a Blue Thunder player as he walked off the field.
Some of the boys said they were the Blue Thunder's biggest fans, attending most of the home games all summer and chatting with the players on the field after the games. Many of the players were like role models to them.
Several boys, including Brady Houle, 10; Max Zimmerman, 8; Allen Jevning, 11; and Chris Pederson, 11, said they hoped to one day play for the Blue Thunder themselves. They were too busy watching the game to worry about answering questions from a Dispatch reporter.
"They're our future, they're our future players right here," Mike Rens, who works with the Blue Thunder team, said of the boys as they leaned against the fence, baseball mitts in hand with the hopes of catching a fly ball. "They're growing up at the park. We want them to come back with their kids."
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Babe the Blue Ox, mascot for the Brainerd Blue Thunder, helped get the crowd on its feet Wednesday night at Mills Field. It didn't seem to need much encouragement as the Thunder scored 12 runs in the first inning.
Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey
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The Budweiser Clydesdales draw many families to Mills Field as groups of children and adults admired the "Gentle Giants." The Clydesdales have been stabled at the Crow Wing County Fairgrounds since Monday, where they underwent their detailed beauty regimen required before public appearances. The team, based in SeaWorld in San Antonio, Texas, usually has at least six crew members accompanying the large horses and they're on the road about 300 days a year, said team supervisor Pete Petersen.
The horses' bodies were washed and groomed on Tuesday, along with the team's famous truck, and on Wednesday the horses' legs were washed and ribbons and roses were braided into their manes and tails. Petersen said it takes two crew members five hours to polish all the brass on the harnesses before every public appearance.
Each of the five traveling hitches feature eight draft horses and a Dalmatian dog. The eight draft horses at Thursday's game - Jeff, Marshal, Yankee, Mark, Diamond, Ladd, Sterling and Chad - ranged in age from 4-12 years, said Petersen. The horses are typically in service for about 15 years, he said. They average about 1 ton each, or 2,000 pounds, and the largest is 19 hands, the smallest is 17.2 hands.
"They're really cool," said Mallory Peterson, 8, Baxter. "And that one right there is nodding its head."
"I like their roses," added Megan Bisek, 6, Brainerd.
If area horse enthusiasts missed the Clydesdales at the game, they can visit them at the fairgrounds from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday through Sunday or watch for them at the Deerwood Summerfest celebration from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday or at the NHRA Nationals at BIR from 8:15 to 11 a.m. Sunday.
JODIE TWEED may be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.
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