If You Miss Football, Racine Threat Can Help

About 150 dedicated fans took to the stands Saturday night to watch the Racine Threat’s biggest win of the season.

The Threat routed the Dane County Hawks 72-26, improving their record to 2-1 in a Mid-States Football League game at Ameche Field in Kenosha.

What brought the crowd out Saturday was a mix of curiosity and loyalty. One fan, Union Grove resident Corey Freeman, was there for his first Threat game.

“The team seems organized, and the coaches are involved,” Freeman said. “I said to myself, I’m not doing anything Saturday, and I love football.

The scoreboard certainly helped keep the crowd interested in the action. The Threat were up 28-0 at the end of the first quarter and 49-6 at halftime. The home team greatly overmatched the visiting Hawks, for whom some players had to play both offense and defense because the team had so few players.

If anything was hotter than the action off the field, it was fans’ opinion of the team’s facilities. Those surveyed said they would prefer the team to play in Racine.

“It’s a bummer. It definitely hurts their gate prices,” said Racine resident Mary Ann Townsend. “Most of the guys on the team are from Racine. A half-hour drive just hurts people showing up.”

Still others surveyed were critical of how far the bathrooms were located and also of the fact that Ameche Field did not serve liquor.

“I have to be honest with you, Horlick Field sells beer,” Freeman said. “I would come out more if they started serving beer.”

Still others were in attendance for the love of the game.

“I’m in football withdrawal,” said Racine resident Mike Johnson, who was in the stands with his wife, Marnee. “I’ve been a [Racine] Raider fan since I was 14 years old.”

Johnson said he attends every home Raider game and attended a couple Threat games last season. This was his first Threat game for the 2011 season.

The next Threat game is at 7 p.m. next Saturday, Aug. 6, at Ameche Field. The Threat host the Lake County Steelers.