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The Saskatchewan Rush may have dropped the opening game in their best-of-three National Lacrosse League final against the Georgia Swarm, but they proved they have some of the most dedicated fans in the league.
Rush season ticket-holder Patrick Kurtz and his young sons, Darian and Cale, made the trip from Saskatchewan to Duluth, Ga., to take in Sunday’s contest.
He said Georgia’s hometown fans were doing double takes in the stands when they saw Rush supporters had made the over 3,000 kilometre journey to cheer on their team.
“You could see (Georgia fans) kind of looking at us a little funny here, like: ‘what are these people doing here? They came a long way to watch this game,'” he said.
Kurtz said they met several Rush players around their hotel before the game, and they seemed to get a lift from seeing friendly faces so far from home.
“Kind of walking around and I said to the kids ‘I think there’s some Rush players in there. Pretty soon, three or four of them came out and said: ‘see, I told you there’s Rush fans here!'”
Unfortunately, the Swarm managed to spoil the party by beating the Rush 18-14 following a second-half comeback.
Despite the loss, Kurtz said the team’s hospitality left his sons with memories they’ll likely cherish for a lifetime.
“They actually got to go on the bus with the players over to the rink there, and hang out with them and watch practices. And we’ve seen lots of the guys in the hotel here and stuff like that. It was just a good, fun experience,” he said.
The Rush are back at home Saturday looking to save their series against the Swarm. A win at SaskTel Centre will give Saskatchewan a chance to head back to Georgia for a deciding game, and a chance to claim their third-straight NLL crown.