GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — 30 years is a long time in professional sports, and it's a legacy being celebrated as the Grand Rapids Griffins take the home ice at Van Andel Arena for the first time this season, Friday, October 17th at 7:00 pm.
But if you ask the Grand Rapids Griffins, three decades is only the beginning.
“To be a part of an organization that helps develop and make Grand Rapids even better is extremely satisfying,” said Griffin's President Tim Gortsema.
If you are keeping count, that's 30 years on the ice, two Calder Cup championships, and countless memories for this team and their fans.
“Nothing more special than 2017 to actually win that cup and do it right here in front of our fans,” Bob Kaser, Griffins VP of Broadcasting, told me in a recent sit-down I had with the voice of the Griffins. “We've got something really, really cool that's been going on here for a long, long time. And if you haven't experienced it, you need to.”
The Grand Rapids Griffins first dropped the puck in 1996 as a member of the International Hockey League before becoming an affiliate of the Ottawa Senators. In 2001, they joined the American Hockey League and linked up with the Detroit Red Wings as an affiliate a year later.
The rest is history – for a franchise that has become a staple of West Michigan.
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“I tell you what, there's a boatload of young kids out of Grand Valley University in Calvin that came to these dollar beer dollar dogs, and just for the beer and the hot dogs, and they fell in love with the teams, and now they're," said Kaser. "You know, they're long-standing fans, and a part of the fabric of the success story that is, you know, minor pro sports in West Michigan.”
"This is a cold-weather state, so hockey's always kind of done well in the state of Michigan, but for us three decades, in terms of cultivating fan bases, etc, it's continued to grow," Gortsema told me.
Growth on and off the ice.
According to the Griffins, the organization helped raise $531,912 for various area charities last season alone. That's a number Gortsema will tell you, might be as impressive as their two Calder Cups.
“Why is the hockey team here? Well, it's here to make our community better, and that's not only through entertainment, but it's also through giving back,” Gortsema said.
That’s a huge part of why they have been here 30 years, and as the organization starts this season, they are looking ahead to be here for 30 more years.
"We're here ultimately, because of the fans, and we're here because we have a terrific staff that's very tenured, that has been around a long time, that puts on a really good product,” said Gortsema.
"I always refer to myself as a fan with a microphone in front of his mouth," Kaser added. "But, you know, there, there are people here that love this team even more than I do, and that's a pretty cool thing."
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