Thunder Home Opener Big Success
Last night was the home inaugural game for the Muskegon Thunder, Muskegon's new indoor arena football team. Thinking it might be a little crowded, my husband and I left for the game about 45 minutes early. We only live about 5 minutes from downtown, so we thought we might have our pick of parking spaces. To our surprise, we had difficulty finding a parking space, and people were already gathering in the arena for the game. The crowd was standing room only, with close to 5,000 spectators in attendance.
Last night's game was extremely exciting with the Thunder pounding on Summit County of Ohio, with a final score of 54-12. The stars of the game were Derek Hawthorne, a Flint native who recently played for Grand Rapids Community College. His victory dance is more like a celtic dance to me, nevertheless, it was funny and he showed that he is a wonderful asset to this team. Other stars of the night were former Big Red (Muskegon High School) star Paul Dye and Oakridge Eagle T. J. Williams.
Now to be truthful there are just a couple of issues I think the Thunder need to address. First, the turf was bought used from a team out of Cleveland and it is very worn. Hopefully, after they make some money they can replace it. The second concern is the sound system. The announcer could barely be heard at times. My last concern, well the Static Shock Dance team. No offense to these beautiful young ladies, but they just did not have their act together. They missed steps, seemed unsure about their routine, and stayed on the floor too long at times. Ladies, this is not basketball. Learn the game so that you don't become a hinderance.
Overall, I'm so glad to welcome the Muskegon Thunder. It is coached by homegrown talent (the coaches come from Holton High School) and most of the players are from around here as well.
