Fin-Atics in Miss February, 1997

by Lori Parrish

When I joined the Fin-Atics I was asked if I would be interested in helping out with coordinating road trips. I wanted to go to some of the away games. Volunteering to coordinate the trips seemed like the best excuse I could have for getting away (since I planned it I really needed to be there.)

My first assignment was a big one to say the least. While bus trips had been done in the past, no one had ever taken on the challenge of an overnight road trip. My first priority was to try and find sponsors. The Mill Bakery, Eatery and Brewery and Gulf 104 jumped at the opportunity to be involved. Lucky for me since Tim Hendrix at The Mill is a "pro" at planning these trips and, yes, it was his idea to bring beer on the bus.

Gulf 104 got to work running the on-air advertisements and arranged for me to sit with TC and Dave during a live remote from The Mill; sign-ups went great and there was a lot of interest in the trip.

We started the day off at 7:00 AM with breakfast at The Mill. Tony Mancuso and Charlie Muenger from the Tiger Sharks came by to see everyone off. We held our first prize drawing after breakfast which was for a free hotel room at the Grand Casino Gulfport. Karen West had the lucky number which left her with some extra cash to spend in the casino. Once all 63 passengers and the beer were loaded on the bus we headed to Gulfport. There were several movies shown, lunch was provided and prize drawings were held every 30 minutes. Some of the items donated included free dinners and discount coupons from The Mill, mugs, CD's and hats from Gulf 104, hockey pucks, t-shirts and pennants from the Tiger Sharks and discount coupons from Subway. The Grand Casino provided each person on the bus with a fanny pack.

After checking in at the hotel, everyone had some free time. As part of the hotel package, we were giving tickets to the Grand American Superstars Show which had performances by Elvis, Madonna, Sam and Dave, and The Four Tops. Madonna took a particular liking to several of the audience members - the men of course!

Immediately after the show the hotel hosted a pep rally. We tossed Grand Casino merchandise and Mardi Gras beads to all the fans. We also unveiled the new Fin-Atics "Vicious Fishes Have Arrived" road trip banner. After the pep rally some of the group went to the buffet for dinner which was included with the hotel package. Banana's was open until 11 pm so everyone was able to go at their leisure. It had every kind of food and dessert that you could imagine and it was wonderful.

The hockey game was sold out but our group was definitely noticed in their Tiger Sharks jerseys and Fin-A tics t-shirts. We filled an entire section (125 seats.) I should mention there were 8 unfortunate Sea Wolves fans stuck in our section. Unfortunately, the Tiger Sharks did not win but we were told that most of the players saw us, and the ones who didn't see us could definitely hear us.

The worst part of being at the game was the Sea Wolves fans who were sitting in the level above our section. Through the game they threw coins, Mardi Gras beads, food and drinks at us. There were also a few minor altercations after the game when we were leaving.

Once back at the hotel everyone was on their own until the bus left the next afternoon. There was plenty to do at the hotel. Besides the obvious gambling activities there was a pretty decent band in the lounge that played until 1 or 2 am, and the hotel had an indoor pool and health spa. The hotel was right on the beach and although the weather was not the greatest several people went walking on the beach.

From the comments I have heard everyone had a great time and they are looking forward to going on another overnight trip next year. Hopefully the next trip we will be able to double the size of the group and really make our presence known.