In the late 70s my father used to take my friends and me to see the Phoenix Inferno, our local Major Indoor Soccer League team. The game was perfect for bored eight-year-olds: even though there was nothing at stake, we didn’t understand the rules, and all the teams looked and played alike, it was fun to watch. Unlike professional baseball or football, where franchises had decades of tradition and rivalry to elevate their status, indoor soccer had the atmosphere of a bad traveling carnival. MISL games were played indoors, on artificial turf, behind a plastic barrier. The uniforms were bright and silly, the quality of play fairly shoddy. Players came and went and didn’t inspire much loyalty.
The lights dimmed and the announcer introduced the Buffalo players, who skated onto the court. Their jerseys were adorned with a picture of a snorting bison. A faint boo drifted across the court, but the stadium was mostly silent. Then, over the loudspeakers, came the sound of thunder, two booms, followed by a loud, catlike roar. Music blared while the announcer introduced the Cheetahs, who wore home white with multicolored trimmings. In the program the team’s colors were listed as “desert orange, butterscotch, tan, and black.”
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Cheetah! See spots run
But you can’t catch a Cheetah
Baby
About a minute later Al Secord, who is 36 and played eight seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, picked up a goal, putting the Cheetahs up 2-1. Other Cheetahs include Ladislau Tresl, a Czech who, according to the program, “rides a Harley Heritage Classic”; medical student Tony Seibel; and Robert Wallwork, who “went over Niagara Falls in a barrel.” Most players have some professional hockey experience.
