SPORTS FLASHBACK 1983: ‘Crazy Dave’ excites Niverville volleyball fans
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Niverville coach Don Dulder pulled out all the stops for the final game of the regular season in an attempt to have his Panthers upset the Green Valley Pirates to finish in first place in the Eastman “A” High School Volleyball League.
An afternoon pep rally carried on to the evening’s match with the Pirates, when the gym was filled with screaming people, urged on by Dave Stoesz, making his debut as Crazy Dave.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders have a fan who dresses in green and sets fire to his head every time the Green Machine scores a touchdown. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have a First World War ace in yellow pants strutting up and down the sidelines, waving signs at the crowd between touchdowns. The Bombers also have a fan who paints his face blue and attempts to lead the cheering in the stands. Then there is also the Saskatchewan gopher and a dog named Ralph in Calgary.
All of these characters may do an adequate job as cheerleaders, but none can hold a candle to Vancouver’s Krazy George. He really gets the crowd going, darting up and down the stands of B.C. Place. Krazy George bangs on a drum, egging on the crowd to match his own seemingly endless energy.
So, if your team needs a little boost to lift it to greater heights, who would you most likely to try to copy?
Niverville high school volleyball fans got their introduction to Crazy Dave last week.
While Stoesz filled the bill to perfection, he had a little trouble getting his team to respond to his antics. He most certainly had the crowd, which was the largest ever to take in a high school volleyball game, on his side. The Niverville team played its best, but just couldn’t manage to upset a stronger Green Valley squad.
But that wasn’t the last game of the season for Crazy Dave. After all, anyone who can bash himself in the finger with a drumstick during warmups and not lose any of his enthusiasm is not going to let one setback stop him.
He was back at it again at the playoff game in Grunthal for the South Division championship and was again giving it his best shot, until he broke his drum.
School spirit and team spirit are all too rare these days, and if Crazy Dave is in the least bit responsible for bringing out the huge crowds at high school volleyball games lately, it’s too bad there aren’t more like him.