TBLightningFan Posted November 5, 2007 Report Share Posted November 5, 2007 So I was at the Lightning - Thrashers game last night (and no, I don't want to talk about it! lol :blink : ) and I saw a guy wearing a brightly colored tye-dyed jersey that really stood out. I didn't have time to get the camera out, and I was talking with friends so I couldn't stop him, but I'm really curious about it... It said "Vipers" on the front, with a snake if memory serves. The sleeve patches were a peace sign on one side, and a smiley face on the other. I'm pretty sure it was customized, but darned if I knew what. Pretty sure there was an emblem on the back right bottom hem, but not sure what. Any idea what the heck that was? I figured if anyone knows, it'd be you guys. Sorry if this is in the wrong spot on the boards, feel free to move it CryWolf if it is. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZoomZoom18 Posted November 5, 2007 Report Share Posted November 5, 2007 So I was at the Lightning - Thrashers game last night (and no, I don't want to talk about it! lol :blink : ) and I saw a guy wearing a brightly colored tye-dyed jersey that really stood out. I didn't have time to get the camera out, and I was talking with friends so I couldn't stop him, but I'm really curious about it...It said "Vipers" on the front, with a snake if memory serves. The sleeve patches were a peace sign on one side, and a smiley face on the other. I'm pretty sure it was customized, but darned if I knew what. Pretty sure there was an emblem on the back right bottom hem, but not sure what. Any idea what the heck that was? I figured if anyone knows, it'd be you guys. Sorry if this is in the wrong spot on the boards, feel free to move it CryWolf if it is. Thanks! The Detroit Vipers were in the IHL in the mid-late 90s and the IHL was notorious for doing nights of special events and this one sounds like it was for a 60s night or a hippie night. I'm guessing the emblem on the back hem was probably a Bauer tag, unless the team had someone else make the jerseys special for that particular game. Bauer made the IHLs jerseys for as long as I could remember. In Indianapolis, the Ice's IHL club was also notorious for doing events like that as well. They wore pink jerseys for a Valentine's Day game in 1996 and I believe even did one of the 60s nights as well with the tie-dyed jerseys. For a pack the house night they started wearing jerseys designed by local kids from a children's home in which proceeds from the game were donated to the home. I always thought that was interesting about minor league hockey, you never quite knew exactly what the team may have had planned over the course of the season. The pink jerseys made Sportscenter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBLightningFan Posted November 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2007 That sounds like it might have been it! It was a great looking jersey, I wish I had stopped him to take pictures, as google hasn't brought me anything to show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabinsurance Posted November 5, 2007 Report Share Posted November 5, 2007 That sounds like it might have been it! It was a great looking jersey, I wish I had stopped him to take pictures, as google hasn't brought me anything to show. The Vipers were owned by the Palace S & E company, the same company that just sold the Lightning. They were a powerhouse independent team,1997 Turner Cup champs, but when Davidson bought the Lightning, they became the Bolt's minor leauge team. After that they weren't the same and folded, along with the IHL in June 2001. They were the biggest offender of "papering the house". Meaning that they gave away a lot of tickets. In the minors, that's not necessarily a bad thing, if the building owners own the team, as in the case of the Vipers. In this case they pick up parking and concessions for the main revenue. The Vipers were originally the Salt Lake Golden Eagles, which were owned by the Jazz/Larry Miller. They moved to the Palace of Auburn Hills in the summer of 1994 after being sold to the Pistons/Palace/Davidson group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZoomZoom18 Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 The Vipers were owned by the Palace S & E company, the same company that just sold the Lightning. They were a powerhouse independent team,1997 Turner Cup champs, but when Davidson bought the Lightning, they became the Bolt's minor leauge team. After that they weren't the same and folded, along with the IHL in June 2001. They were the biggest offender of "papering the house". Meaning that they gave away a lot of tickets. In the minors, that's not necessarily a bad thing, if the building owners own the team, as in the case of the Vipers. In this case they pick up parking and concessions for the main revenue. The Vipers were originally the Salt Lake Golden Eagles, which were owned by the Jazz/Larry Miller. They moved to the Palace of Auburn Hills in the summer of 1994 after being sold to the Pistons/Palace/Davidson group. The Vipers never seemed like they were the same after they became the Lightning's top affiliate. I was always curious as to what happened with them and was surprised they didn't follow the Chicago Wolves and the other teams that went to the AHL in 2001-02. I never understood why Detroit and Chicago had teams in the IHL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabinsurance Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 The Vipers never seemed like they were the same after they became the Lightning's top affiliate. I was always curious as to what happened with them and was surprised they didn't follow the Chicago Wolves and the other teams that went to the AHL in 2001-02. I never understood why Detroit and Chicago had teams in the IHL. The Wolves went to the AHL because it made sense $$$. For the Vipers, to pay $100k a year for 10 years (AHL expansion fees) and for the dwindling crowds when they went south in the standings, it was better to fold and write it off. When they went from 1st place to last, they had trouble giving away tickets and getting anyone in the building. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZoomZoom18 Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 The Wolves went to the AHL because it made sense $$$. For the Vipers, to pay $100k a year for 10 years (AHL expansion fees) and for the dwindling crowds when they went south in the standings, it was better to fold and write it off. When they went from 1st place to last, they had trouble giving away tickets and getting anyone in the building. I figured that's why the Wolves went, they never seemed like they had any problems filling up their arena up there. I had never known that about the Vipers and their ticket strategy. I always thought with them being in Detroit and the Red Wings games being regular sellouts during that time frame, then they probably would be a nice backup for the Wings. They were one team I saw play several times, but never liked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabinsurance Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 I figured that's why the Wolves went, they never seemed like they had any problems filling up their arena up there. I had never known that about the Vipers and their ticket strategy. I always thought with them being in Detroit and the Red Wings games being regular sellouts during that time frame, then they probably would be a nice backup for the Wings. They were one team I saw play several times, but never liked. There was a controversy in 1997 during their Turner Cup run. That was also the year the Wings were on their way to the Stanley Cup. They sold strips of playoff tickets for $99. The players union complained that there wasn't anything going to them for their cut. The Vipers replied that with the Wings on their run, they couldn't even get mentioned in the paper and had to do something. They used to give away thousands of tickets to the auto companies in the area. I knew someone who was a manager at GMAC and he said that they always had free Vipers tickets. But those type of things were common in the "I". Here in Cleveland, it was very common to give away tickets. Maybe that's why the REAL IHL is gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBLightningFan Posted November 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 Wow, this has really been an eye opening history! You guys seem to know the story behind everything. Now I really wish I had taken the guys picture, as I'll probably never see the jersey again, and that's the first and only time I've seen him at a game (and I go to quite a few). Guess I'll keep my eyes open for something new to stump you with! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZoomZoom18 Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 There was a controversy in 1997 during their Turner Cup run. That was also the year the Wings were on their way to the Stanley Cup. They sold strips of playoff tickets for $99. The players union complained that there wasn't anything going to them for their cut. The Vipers replied that with the Wings on their run, they couldn't even get mentioned in the paper and had to do something. They used to give away thousands of tickets to the auto companies in the area. I knew someone who was a manager at GMAC and he said that they always had free Vipers tickets. But those type of things were common in the "I". Here in Cleveland, it was very common to give away tickets. Maybe that's why the REAL IHL is gone. I always felt that the IHL outgrew itself. You went from having teams in Salt Lake City, Flint, Saginaw, Muskegon, to going to cities like Denver, Houston, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles (and then Long Beach) where the smaller market teams needed an affiliation to survive. Once Indianapolis lost the Blackhawks as their primary affiliate and the NHL preferred the AHL to the IHL, I knew their days were numbered in the IHL. I was watching a game during the 97-98 season and it hit me that the Ice would never be a contending team in the IHL as so many teams were signing NHLers on their last legs and IIRC some teams even had a salary cap approaching a $1 mill a year. I'm impressed Kalamazoo held on for as long as they did. Cleveland always struck me to be in the same boat as Indianapolis and Milwaukee, as long as they had an affiliate, they would hold on for another year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabinsurance Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 Wow, this has really been an eye opening history! You guys seem to know the story behind everything. Now I really wish I had taken the guys picture, as I'll probably never see the jersey again, and that's the first and only time I've seen him at a game (and I go to quite a few). Guess I'll keep my eyes open for something new to stump you with! Thanks, but it's easy to remember that stuff when you were there with it like I was. I lived with the IHL from 1992 to the bitter end in 2001. The Cleveland Lumberjacks were actually owned and ran by the league the last half of the final season. A sad ending to a once-proud franchise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZoomZoom18 Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 Wow, this has really been an eye opening history! You guys seem to know the story behind everything. Now I really wish I had taken the guys picture, as I'll probably never see the jersey again, and that's the first and only time I've seen him at a game (and I go to quite a few). Guess I'll keep my eyes open for something new to stump you with! Like rabinsurance, I grew up following the IHL from around 1990-1999. Indianapolis lost their team to the CHL in 1999 and I didn't pay too much attention to the IHL after that. It was an awesome league in the mid-90s and it wasn't unusual to see many stars from the NHL there, who were either free agents in contract disputes or once proud players who were on their last legs. Indianapolis saw Dominik Hasek and Todd White pass through over the course of their existence. Off the top of my head I can name Radek Bonk, Alexei Yashin, Curtis Joseph, Petr Sykora, Martin St. Louis, Miroslav Satan and Petr Nedved among some that played in the I at one time or the other. DesertRat named some in the NHL thread. IN fact, the Cleveland Lumberjacks were once the Muskegon Lumberjacks and they played the Indianapolis Ice in the 1989-90 Turner Cup finals, where the Ice won their only IHL championship. IT was neat because there were a lot of regional rivalries that were around, with all the teams for the most part centered around the midwest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HJimm Posted January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 But back to the original direction several teams wore Tie Die jersey for 70's night during the 1997-98 season. There's a nice pictorial jerseys history here at www.gameworns.com . I personally don't collect those specials (gamers only) but there yare a lot of collectors who do. The old "I" rocked! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OHLGuy20 Posted December 16, 2009 Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 Man, all this talk of the old IHL has me missing it so much. Ahh, to be able to return to the days of the Las Vegas Thunder, Detroit Vipers, Kansas City Blades and Quebec Rafales! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAP-TCS Posted November 4, 2010 Report Share Posted November 4, 2010 I have one of those Viper jersey you speak of, the Vipers to my knowledge had 3 variations and the one you describe was the first. Email me if you want to see a photo. llpell@wowwway.com Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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