Sidekicks Never Say Die - MISL 1987 - Part 5/9
Sidekicks Never Say Die - MISL 1987 - Part 5/9
The Sidekicks start the Finals down 0-2, but stay alive for a historic Game 6
On Saturday, June 13, Jago and the Sidekicks had a chance to prove the Tacoma Stars wrong on their home turf at Reunion Arena. The people of Dallas-Ft. Worth showed up and filled every single seat.
“For one of the few times in my career, I think the crowd really had an effect on tonight’s game. They really gave us momentum and enthusiasm to play tough defensively,” Sidekicks midfielder Wes McLeod said.
The Stars had been kings of the power play all season. Not only were they 0-3 on the game, but the Sidekicks penalty-killing team struck gold.
“With Tacoma on a power play and using a sixth-attacker, Sobieski and McLeod teamed to stop a point-blank shot by Žungul. [Kevin] Smith then stole the ball from Preki and curved a right-footed shot three-quarters of the field that rolled into the goal just ahead of sixth-attacker Ralph Black. It was Dallas’ first short-handed goal of the playoffs,” Richie Whitt reported in the Star-Telegram.
The Sidekicks kept hope alive with a 5-3 win in front of the 16,824 fans in attendance and an audience on ESPN, where the game was televised. Since none of the players on Dallas’ roster had Championship Series experience, they didn’t know any better than to not roll over for the Stars. And Tatu led the way.
“Here, it was Shirt Night, sort of, which meant that Tatu, the Lone Haberdasher, rode again. He awoke from a series-long sleep and scored twice,” wrote Gil LaBreton, a Star-Telegram columnist.
LaBreton couldn’t help but get in a dig on Tacoma’s Darth Vader:
“Reunion Arena was the place to be last night – down near the turf, where you could see Dallas defender Wes McLeod playing with wide-eyed desperation, or high up in Section 222, where you could keep an eye on Žungul’s bald spot.”
Now down 1-2 in the series, the Sidekicks had successfully kept “the royal morticians from their back door,” as LaBreton quipped.
Sunday, June 14 brought more good news for the Sidekicks. Game 4 ended with Krys Sobieski snuffing out a missile from Tacoma’s Gregg Blasingame. The result? Another Dallas win.
“Led by Tatu’s three goals and one assist, the Sidekicks beat the Stars 6-5, in Game 4 of the MISL League Championship series before 13,597 at Reunion Arena. In the process, they climbed back from 2-1, 4-2 and 5-4 deficits to even the best-of-seven series at two games each,” Whitt wrote.
The game featured a great deal of bad feelings on both sides. Sidekicks fans poured beer on Stars forward Gary Heale after a hard foul on Tatu. One fan was even taken away by police. Tacoma complained about the officiating more than the customary amount you’d hear in a sporting match. In particular, they believed Mike Powers should have been called for a handball in the last minute of the game.
“Tell the fans in Tacoma to be there Tuesday night. It will be a real humdinger. Our guys will be mean. They are angry,” Alan Hinton said.
Stars forward Steve Žungul broke out the peace pipe in a post-game interview with Richie Whitt, and smashed it over the heads of the Sidekicks:
“[Tatu’s] a disgrace to the game of soccer with his field antics,” Žungul told Whitt.
Žungul was referring to what he believed were Tatu’s attempts to join the Brazilian Diving Team for the 1988 Olympics. Alan Hinton concurred, saying that he was going to buy Tatu a swimming pool after the season ended.
“Reunion Arena was the last of the concrete, no luxury box stadiums. There was a banner hanging at the top that said, ‘Tatu, can we swim in your pool?’ That’s how much people were paying attention to the series that year,” Alan Balthrop said.
With the series tied 2-2, the Sidekicks flew back to Tacoma for the fifth game. Dallas probably wished they had missed the flight.
“Tacoma’s record-setting power-play unit added three goals as the Stars defeated Dallas 5-3 last night in Game 5 before an MISL record 20,284 at Tacoma,” Whitt reported.
The game that followed, number six in the series, was what Alan Balthrop considers the greatest game in MISL history.
After it ended, Gordon Jago would call it “the best soccer game of any kind I’ve ever seen.” To Alan Hinton, it was a “great game of soccer, a wonderful game.” Opposing coaches aren’t supposed to react the same way at the end of a game, unless it ends in a tie. But ties are for outdoor soccer and job interviews.
“I don’t think the fans will ever see a game like that again,” Sidekicks defender Victor Moreland said.
Game 6 of the MISL Championship Series took place on Thursday, June 18 at Reunion Arena. Down 2-3 in the seven-game series, the Sidekicks had to win at home and then win again on the road to earn the title. And to do that, they had to stop the Tacoma power play. Three of the four penalties in Game 5 led to Tacoma goals.
“If they score on every power play like they have been, they’re going to be almost impossible to beat,” Gordon Jago said.
Blue and red lights flash as police motorcycles lead a parade of players into the arena. If you watch the relatively grain-free YouTube video, over the noise of the motorcycles and cheering, you hear Norm Hitzges, the TV voice of the Sidekicks, and former Dallas Tornado outdoor star and color commentator Mike Renshaw. Renshaw remarks that the key to the game is the matchup between Tatu and Preki.
The audio soon switches over to the voices of the Tacoma Stars Radio Network: Dick Albert, Jim McCallister and Brian Flaziel. Herb Silva and Marty Templin are the refs on the field. Though most consider them some of the best in the league, Tacoma would very much prefer someone other than Silva. Their record that year in games called by him: 4-10.
Mike Dowler, in green and black, stands in goal, his dark hair down to just above his shoulders. He shares goalkeeping duties with Joe Papaleo in the playoffs, and due to injury, has only played nine games that season. His Goals Against (GA) average stands at a respectable 5.19 for the playoffs.
The game begins…
Next Week: Part 6 of “Sidekicks Never Say Die”