Accelerators soccer team hopes to impress home fans

Written by Doug McConachie
February 01, 2008

Carlos Bravo didn't know Thursday his Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League team, the Saskatoon Accelerators, had just picked up a new player.

But it didn't come as a surprise for the Accelerator general manager, because the early days of getting established in the Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League requires last-minute decisions.

The only thing that really matters is that the fans, who witnessed a series of exhibition games in Saskatoon earlier in the month against the Edmonton Drillers, walk away feeling good about what they saw. And despite the cold weather, ticket sales for this weekend's three games (two go Sunday in a doubleheader) have been reasonable, Bravo says.

It's wise to view the whole debacle as an organizational affair, rather than a poker game where you're competing against each other. As long as tickets are being bought and fans are getting their money's worth, everyone's winning no matter what the final score is.

Long-range plans call for a bona fide league, but to get there, fans have to believe what they're seeing is worth it. Winnipeg doesn't play any home games this year while the league games are crammed into weekends.

Two weeks ago in Edmonton, the Accelerators lost to Edmonton 9-3, fell to Calgary 7-3 and then bounced back with an 11-3 whipping of Winnipeg.

Saskatoon's initially planned home-opener against Calgary on Jan. 13 had to be bounced back to March, after a scheduling conflict surfaced when Credit Union Centre was double-booked.

But perseverance will win out, Bravo hopes, revealing the Accelerators' issued 10,000 free tickets to every Saskatoon elementary student for this weekend's three games, in hopes of not only filling the stands with noise, but creating a fan base for the future.

The Accelerators have already lost one player -- Mark Korthuis -- who played the first weekend and then left to play soccer in Czech Republic. As well, they've had to place Regina's Kash Bahia, who is on the injured list because of a hamstring injury. So when Winnipeg released Sinisa Mitic, originally from Bosnia, Accelerator owner Mel Kowalchuk quickly scooped him up.

Mitic will arrive in time to play tonight's exhibition game, but he might not know where he's playing until he walks into the dressing room.

Mitic plays forward, midfield and defence and, despite Winnipeg's five straight losses, was still voted the Alliance's best player during their last weekend tournament.

Sunday's double-header begins 1 p.m. followed by the second game about 3 p.m. Tickets range from $14.50 for adults, to $7.50 for children, not including service charges.