Saturday, February 16, 2008

I've been dying to use an Ogie Oglethorpe tag

How can a headline like this disappoint?
"Vikings Go On Rampage At Lodge"


Yep, in a scene probably only found on the Slap Shot cutting room floor, several members of a small town's minor league hockey team completely trashed the historic Vikings Lodge because The Mid-Atantic Hockey League actually closed up shop in the middle of the season.
2/15/2008 - Presumedly seeking revenge against the Mid-Atlantic Hockey League for calling it quits in the middle of the season, several players with the Jamestown Vikings trashed the historic Vikings Lodge on the corner of Washington and West Fourth Street early Thursday, leaving most of the building in shambles.

Trash and debris were everywhere, especially on the second and third floors where the stench of beer and rotting food was almost overpowering. Bar stools were smashed through doors, and virtually every piece of glass in the building had been shattered, the broken shards unavoidable underfoot.
I mean, this is terrific stuff. Mid-Atlantic Hockey League officials apparently announced Wednesday they were canceling the rest of the season so they could "start fresh in 2008-09." The league owed players thousands of bucks, and not surprisingly, the players hated guys like Andrew Haines, league president and Vikings owner. Sooooooooo, I guess the next logical step was for these guys to get shitfaced and fuck up a 100-year old Vikings Lodge?
‘‘They were on a drunken rampage,’’ said Greg Moran, a building inspector with the city Department of Development, who was called to the scene once police learned of the destruction. ‘‘I was absolutely appalled. ... Some of this stuff is probably irreplaceable.’’

For police, the first sign of trouble was a chair that had been thrown through the storefront window facing Washington Street. When police arrived to investigate, they found the place a wreck and more than a dozen people — players as well as their friends — passed out drunk throughout the building.
Anyone know where I can get a Jamestown Vikings jersey (I'll settle for the Valley Forge Freedom)?

(For the longest time after reading this article this morning, I was sure it was fake. I mean, a "minor league hockey team destroys the local Lodge" story? Too good to be true. But it seems to me The Post-Journal of Jamestown, NY is indeed a real newspaper. Which I guess makes me laugh even more at this tale of modern day Charleston Chiefs)

14 comments:

T.J. said...

Yes, I am well aware Ogie and the Hansons were on opposite teams...but you got the point.

rob said...

nice work, thomas

zman said...

Was the lodge built by actual Vikings (like Lief Erikson) or was it a lodge like the Knights of Columbus or the Loyal Order of Moose?

T.J. said...

I believe It's a KofC type thing.

T.J. said...

HUGE win by Cuse over the Hoyas. Especially after the USF loss mid-week.

rob said...

agreed - that's big. hoyas seemed indifferent. sometimes it's hard to tell if they're really poised or just bored.

rob said...

carolina's re-enacting a scene from oz with virginia tech. yikes.

rob said...

well, at least delaware and northeastern lost. go mason.

T.J. said...

Michael Beasley dropped a cool 40 and 17 against Mizzou today.

rob said...

mason and vcu both lose? that's a peach. hello, 5th seed.

rob said...

pretty disappointed in last night's episode of 'the wire'. they've gone plaid - we're way into implausible territory with both the newspaper and serial killer plotlines. bunk and omar are the only integrity left (both artistically and professionally).

Whitney said...

Tribe's RPI at 164. I sort of figured it'd be a bigger number.

Mark said...

TJ...guess who vehemently agrees with you on Dwight Howard's Superman "dunk". That's right, your boy Skip Bayless.

Julia said...

The Vikings Lodge in question was a former membership lodge. There's a huge Swedish population in Jamestown and the club had sold this building to a guy in Florida who had a land contract with MAHL Owner Andrew Haines. Unfortunately, some of the team members didn't get the memo that their boss didn't own the building when they decided it would be a good idea to trash the place.