'Surreal night': Calgary takes down Alliance in historic Surge 2 Stampede victory at the Dome
Calgarians came decked out by the thousands Wednesday evening for Surge 2 Stampede.
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Some in western wear to salute 'The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth'.
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Others in Calgary Surge silks to support the Canadian Elite Basketball League franchise.
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But make no mistake, it was a party like none other for the club and the circuit, hosted happily in collaboration with the Calgary Stampede at Scotiabank Saddledome.
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'Surreal night,' said Surge co-owner Jason Ribiero, emotional in relishing the gala game that saw his charges score an 107-91 victory over the Montreal Alliance at the Dome amid the 6,954 fevered fans in attendance. 'The visuals are just unbelievable, with everyone in their best western wear mixed with their best jersey.
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'People were telling me that they'd come from all over the country to see the game, out-pacing every expectation we had.'
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Perhaps they'd hoped for more in terms of attendance, aiming to rival the season opener last spring in their first visit to the Dome — a record-breaker for the CEBL with 12,327 fans on hand.
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However, the spirit and the atmosphere of the evening pushed the one-off affair to extraordinary heights.
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'It was kind of perfect the way it all played out Wednesday,' said CEBL commissioner Mike Morreale. 'I've kind of come to expect it from teams that over-deliver — Calgary being one of them.
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'I was here last year for the home opener — over 12,000 fans. I would say (Wednesday) was better,' continued Morreale. 'There was less fans in the stands, but that didn't matter. I would say it really hit a home run.
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'When you do all the right things — all the little things correctly — eventually things prevail and karma comes to the forefront.'
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They certainly got things done correctly on the floor, even though the visitors got the better the Surge early in the evening.
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But that was forgotten as the western night wore on.
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At halftime, the Calgary Stampede Showband took to the court, reminding all this was no ordinary Surge affair and that just outside the Dome doors 'The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth' was in full swing.
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And then it was time for the Surge to put on a show of their own.
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Down 62-49 at the intermission, the home Dome side stampeded out of the dressing room to make it a game. The Surge out-scored the Alliance 15-3 in the first five-plus minutes of the third quarter and made it a one-point game on three separate occasions.
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