If you're a women in her 20s or 30s who would like to be in our 1980s-style music video, another opportunity is coming up. On Saturday, Sept. 2, we will be holding a rehearsal and shooting for the video, which will be featured in our documentary about the Wichita Wings. The event will take place at Roxy's Downtown, 412 E. Douglas.
Anyone interested should come in a black cocktail dress. (We'll have an orange sash to go with it.) From 10 a.m.-noon, we will have students from Crave Beauty Academy on hand for hair and makeup, re-creating the look of Robert Palmer's videos in the 1980s.
A choreographer will be also be there to teach the routine. We'll have lunch catered in, as well as a couple of volunteers helping with any need our dancers might have. Children are welcome, provided they don't interfere with the shoot.
The actual shooting will begin around noon, and we'll be finished by 2 p.m.
Dance experience is a plus, but not required. If you're interested, please let us by messaging our Facebook page. If you're not on Facebook, feel free to email me at adamduaneknapp@gmail.com.
We'd like to express our appreciation to Crave, which is going to be involved in future shoots, as well as the folks at Roxy's, a first-class venue which will always hold a special place in my heart.
During the first season of the Wichita B52s professional indoor soccer team, Johnny Freedom asked me to go meet up with some guy who supposedly had big plans for a supporters group for the team. It turned out his name was Josh Kippenberger and he had even bigger dreams than that: he wanted to start a fan group that would support ALL levels of soccer in Wichita. I was "all in" from day one. Josh, myself, Johnny Freedom, and Anthony Villegas formed Futbol Wichita Live, which not only rallied support for soccer, but also produced original articles about the team and began an internet broadcast of the B52s games at Hartman Arena. At his own expense, Josh purchased all the equipment necessary to make that happen. He was the play-by-play man, with Johnny Freedom providing color commentary. On Wednesday nights, we would host a live podcast at The Monarch in Delano, talking about the latest happenings in the MASL and around Wichita’s college and professional soccer scene.
It was clear from the beginning that Josh is a passionate supporter of Wichita soccer. No, that’s imprecise...he is a passionate supporter of Wichita...AND a passionate supporter of soccer. Both he and Jaco General Contractor, where he serves as CEO, support both wholeheartedly. When Mike Romalis and I wrote Make This Town Big: The Story of Roy Turner and the Wichita Wings, Josh and Jaco stepped in to sponsor our book. And now, they’ve done so again, supporting the Wings documentary film at quadruple the level of their book sponsorship.
Since the demise of the B52s, Josh and Jaco have provided substantial support to FC Wichita, our city's outdoor soccer team. Josh has even loaned his voice and time to their broadcasting team, partnering with Johnny Freedom and MJ Productions to deliver a live YouTube broadcast of the home games. Furthermore, Josh invested his hard-earned dollars in FC Wichita, working to help make the organization bigger and better.
Meanwhile, Jaco is a prime player in the development of our city. The company was an important contractor on a project that has helped define the new spirit of Wichita: Dwight D. Eisenhower Airport. Jaco was selected to build three retail spaces inside this city’s new and improved transportation hub. Anyone who flies in and out of Wichita can now appreciate the quality product that Jaco can produce.
Beyond the airport, they have partnered with Freddy’s Frozen Custard to construct three stores for Wichita’s fastest growing franchise. Also, Jaco is working with Wichita’s HealthCore Clinic to build a new addition to their 21st and Grove headquarters, a project now in its final stages. Nestled between the big and Little Arkansas Rivers, Botanica is a Wichita institution. Jaco is currently working to freshen up their facility on a pro bono basis. You could say that Jaco wants to be in the middle of Wichita’s 21st century renaissance, figuratively AND literally. They are in the midst of moving to downtown Wichita, just south of Intrust Arena, so they can be where the action is happening.
All the folks at the Wichita Wings documentary film are stoked that this city is where Josh and Jaco have decided to hang their hat!
Our interview with Wichita Wings founder Roy Turner was scheduled for April 14. Roy cancelled because he was ill. As it turned out, I wasn't feeling too good myself that day.
Yesterday, nearly four months later, we finally rescheduled with our friends at the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. It's kind of funny that it took us so long to interview with Turner, who is pretty much the face of the Wichita Wings. After all, we used his home to interview Kevin Kewley. He sat in on our interview with Kim Roentved. I profiled Turner in the Wichita Business Journal nearly 10 years ago, which means I've known him even longer than the authors who wrote a book about him. Point is, we weren't worried because we knew Turner wasn't going anywhere. He has called Wichita home since arriving here to start the Wings in 1979, and he's always been gracious with anyone who wants to talk about them.
His interview was fantastic. He spoke freely about his favorite players (he couldn't pick just one, of course), his rules (more relaxed than most) and their relationship with the fans (he actually encouraged them to go out at night). One sidenote: For those who don't know, Turner's nickname is "Digger." Kewley's nickname is "Tiger," and that's how we came up with the name "Digging Tiger" for our production company. Hey, I've seen worse.
Turner made the same jokes about his struggles trying to guard the legendary Pele, and I made the same jokes about Turner being the most famous person from Liverpool.
"Please don't tell this to the guys," I said afterward, "but this was our best interview."
Roy had a gleam in his eye.
"You're going to tell them I said that, aren't you?" I asked.
"I would have told them that," he said, "even if you hadn't said it."
In 2015, there were times when I felt overwhelmed by what seemed a Sisyphean task: completing a book about the Wichita Wings. After much metaphorical gnashing of teeth, I would usually suck it up and plod on. One thing that always helped was a word with former Wings general manager Bill Kentling. He had a way of reminding me why I was doing all this.
This afternoon I was thinking, "Tim, what the heck are you going to write about in your next blog post?" And wouldn't you know it, an email from Bill Kentling appeared in my Inbox. Bill had sent me an article about WSU basketball's impressive attendance figures last season. Specifically, the article stated that the 2016-17 team had achieved its highest NCAA attendance ranking since the 1983-84 season. Bill pointed out that the 1983-84 season also happened to be one of the Wichita Wings' best attended campaigns: "That was the season we sold out 19 of 24 regular season home games. Happy memories for Shocker and Wings fans," said Bill.
But Bill wrote something else that struck me: "It's not the location or the building. It's the show." In 1983-84, Xavier McDaniel, Aubrey Sherrod, and company were puttin' on a show at Henry Levitt Arena. Up the road, in (what seemed at the time) the faraway Kansas Coliseum, Roy Turner and Bill Kentling were puttin' on a show as well. And it paid off for both squads. Here's a statistic that will likely astound Wichita sports fans: the Shockers averaged 9,989 souls at their 15 home games that year. Meanwhile, the Wings averaged 9,034 at their 24 home games. Furthermore, both teams were playing at the same time of the year. In fact, on Thursday evening, January 26th, the Wings and Shockers played simultaneously at their respective arenas. That same year, 137,018 baseball fans attended (Cincinnati Red's AAA-affiliate) Wichita Aeros games.
If 1983 Wichita, with only about 72% of 2017 Wichita's population, could support these teams, there's no reason why we can't today. Yes, people have more options for their entertainment dollar. But I refuse to believe that Wichita is incapable of supporting both Shocker basketball and professional sports. This past season, the Wichita Thunder hockey team managed to draw over 12,000 people to their home opener. With the right leadership, professional sports in our town can build on this success. Imagine an NBDL franchise, affiliated baseball, or even the return of indoor soccer. All we have to do is "put on a show."
If my co-director Kenny Linn has taught me anything about filmmaking, it's to celebrate the milestones. So Friday night, when we signed an operating agreement with producers Tim O'Bryhim and Jon Pic to form Digging Tiger Productions, I came prepared with a bottle of IPA.
Tim was thoughtful enough to break out his souvenir Wings glasses. I requested to drink from the glass of my favorite Wing, Mike Dowler. Jon, being the ladies' man, chose Andy Chapman. Kenny wanted Roy Turner, because we're interviewing him Thursday morning, and that left Tim with Jorgen Kristensen.
Why "Digging Tiger Productions?" And why did we toast with beer, and not champagne? Keep following this blog ... we'll explain everything.
Today, professional indoor soccer has become a fringe sport. Check ESPN's website if you'd like confirmation; there's nary a mention of the indoor game. Outdoor soccer, or "proper soccer" as some might call it, dethroned the indoor game in the early 1990s. But that dethroning is itself lost in the mists of history for anyone under the age of 30. Not only do many young people not know that the indoor game lost the championship belt, they didn't know they had it to begin with.
In the 1980s, the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) was the highest level of soccer in North America. The old North American Soccer League (NASL), featuring George Best and Pele, was eclipsed by the new and exciting indoor game brought to the American public by Earl Foreman and Ed Tepper. Into that league came the Wichita Wings. But was the level of talent REALLY that good?
Well, 45 Wichita Wings played on various national teams around the world. Per Roentved, Kim's older brother, was the longtime captain of the Danish national team, with an impressive 75 caps (international game appearances) and 11 goals. Incredibly, five (FIVE!) future Wings played on the 1984 US Olympic team (Chico Borja, Mike Brcic, Mike Fox, Jeff Hooker, and Jean Willrich). In fact, Wings appeared on teams from various countries in every Olympic games from 1976 to 1992.*
(This actually the 1983 Team America photo, but Borja is in it, so you get the idea)
The most astounding fact of all is that Wichita Wings players appeared in 535 international games. Yes, that's 535 caps. One cap for every member of our US House of Representatives and Senate (none of whom were good enough to play for the Wings!)
Not only that, but 13 Wings played first division soccer in England. Today, we call that the Premier League. Three Wings played for the storied Manchester United. Jimmy Ryan, "Tricky" Mickey Thomas, and Willie Anderson all played for "ManU" before they became Wings. Ryan scored four times while Thomas accumulated 11 goals in that famous uniform (or "kit" as they call them across the pond.) Jeff Bourne (Derby County), Dave Hoggan (Bolton), Kevin Kewley (Liverpool FC), Seamus McDonough (Bolton & Everton), Victor Moreland (Derby County), Terry Nicholl (Sheffield United), Barry Wallace (Queens Park Rangers), and several others played in what was (and arguably still is) the greatest soccer league in the world.
(Picture above: Jeff Bourne and Mickey Thomas)
Perhaps the two best players to play for the Wings were Erik Rasmussen and Kim Roentved.** Both came to the Wings from Denmark as relatively inexperienced players; Rasmussen a 24 year old and Roentved still a teenager. If they had stayed in Europe, it's impossible to say what would have happened to their careers. However, there is no doubt in my mind that both were legitimate top level European talent. If you have any doubt about Rasmussen's genius, watch this video:
How good were the Wings??? They were top-notch. Believe it.
*David Brcic made the 1980 US Olympic team. But he didn't play due to the American boycott of the games. Cris Vaccaro played for the Puerto Rican Olympic team in the qualifying rounds of the 1992 games.
