Chat with George Karas, season ticket holder since 1974

Ok, things are quite morose in Caps country these days.  Coach Gabby is facing his first three-game losing streak.  The team has foundered on the road.  The injuries are now nearly insurmountable.  So with all of that, a bit of a distraction from the present mess.

I had the distinct honor and privilege, during last April’s brief playoff run, to finally meet in person one of the most passionate and loyal Washington Capitals fans ever.  George Karas is a pioneer of Washington hockey.  He has held season tickets, sometimes four and six at a time, since 1974.  For every season of the Capitals’ existence.

Having been a witness to that much Capitals history undoubtedly gives him a perspective on the franchise, the game, and the team’s prospects that few can rival.

George was born and raised in New York City, and became an avid Rangers fan during his teenage years in the 1940s.  The Rangers, of course, were not far removed from a Stanley Cup victory in 1940.  And during those Original Six days, the Rangers frequently earned themselves a run in the four-team playoffs, battling either the Maple Leafs or the Red Wings.

“I would return from the old Madison Square Garden having lost my voice from yelling.  I got tickets in the side mezzanine, even though I could not see the ice directly under me.”

“[Centers] Edgar Laprade and Neil Colville were my favorites.  Laprade was a graceful skater and good scorer. Neil Colville, of the famous Colville family, had been a forward, and then moved to defense.  And became a top notch defenseman.  [Hmm, where have we heard that one before?]  He had grey hair in his 30s.”

Laprade, from HHOF Digital Archives

One magical day during that decade, George acquired a Transvision TV kit.  It was one of the first commercially available television sets.  A collection of components was sent to the customer, who was then required to solder the parts together.  It took him weeks to assemble (as the ad below mentions, and as George described it, I wouldn’t imagine the process to be “deriving pleasure from creative activity”).

But he had purchased the kit well in advance to allow for sufficient assembly and troubleshooting time, so that all would be ready for Rangers road-game playoff hockey viewing that season.

The finished TV also featured a 12″ cathode ray tube to permit what was then considered wide screen viewing.  George had one of the few TV sets, perhaps only set, in the neighborhood, and a large group of friends assembled for hockey night in Gotham, in front of the tube, at the Karas household.

Setting up a wide screen TV in time for the big game?  Wow, some things never change.

image from earlytelevision.org

George moved to the DC area a few years prior to Abe Pollin’s fledgling and, in retrospect, fantastical campaign to bring NHL hockey to Washington.  Once the Capitals franchise was established, George’s and three other families responded to the deluge of media advertisements and purchased four season tickets among them.

“I was overjoyed to learn NHL hockey was coming to DC.  We were anxious to see that hockey survived in DC.  We got seats up against the glass near the center [at the then "state of the art" Capital Centre].  We realized we were too far down and had trouble seeing the length of the ice, so the next year we moved up about 10 rows.

Seats were easy to get as the team was awful. The Caps got the castoffs from the established teams.

It was pretty iffy whether hockey would stick [in DC].”

In those early days, most fans, certainly fellow season ticket holders, were transplants like George.  “There were a lot of New Yorkers, and folks from Boston too.”  Of course, there were also those Flyers fans who made the drive down I-95 to cheer for their own team, even in the early years of the Caps.

But it was in those early days that a transformation occurred, from Rangers fan to Capitals fan.  A transformation yet to be rewarded with a Stanley Cup victory party.

George witnessed first hand the legendary “Save the Caps” campaign during the summer of 1982.  George recollected of that time that marketing was singularly focused in favor of the NBA franchise.  “The #1 job was to push the Bullets.  The Caps got short shrift.” 

But when it looked as if the team would fold or move imminently, focus was quickly shifted.  At least temporarily.  On that marketing note, “Leonsis is a big improvement as an Caps owner.”

Given George’s tenure as a hockey and a Caps fan, I thought I’d ask him a few broader picture questions.  Who were some of his favorite Caps to watch through the years?  “Peter Bondra, Dale Hunter, Rod Langway, Bengt Gustafsson, Sylvain Côté, Sergei Gonchar, Kevin Hatcher, Calle Johansson, Michal Pivonka, and Brendan Witt.”  A somewhat predictable, but eclectic, list.  Heavily favoring defensemen.  Befitting the franchise’s history.

Did he foresee how important “The Trade” of 1982 might be for the very existence of the franchise, the one that brought Rod Langway to Washington?  “That trade made the team!  The whole team revolved around him.  Once they got Langway, they became a real team.”

Many sports pundits thought, pre-season, that this year’s Caps were a “dark horse” contender for the Cup.  “Their early start bodes well.  Ovechkin and Semin and Backstrom give us hope.”

Does the anticipation of any other season compare to this one?  Was there any other team in Capitals history that could legitimately contend for Lord Stanley?  “The year that Langway had his leg cut [by Pat Verbeek, then of the Devils, in the 1988 playoffs, Patrick Division finals] was the year that they seemed on a roll.  Until then, I thought they were going to go all the way.”

With the talent on that team, going into the playoffs, they should have.

photo from caps-memories.blogspot.com

Yup, injuries to key defensemen might just kill a team.

George, as you might expect, favored the return to the red, white, and blue sweaters, having “never really liked the purplish ones.”  He believes that most fighting in the game is now “too contrived,” and that the shootout is “mildly good – at least the games end up with someone winning.”

He’s also in favor of retiring the numbers of Peter Bondra and Olaf Kolzig, and believes that the franchise “had to come up with something” when it retired Yvon Labre’s #7.

Without question, in his view, no Caps player has ever approached the level of star power and broad-based appeal that Alex Ovechkin enjoys today.

Dale Hunter’s game seven OT goal in the 1988 playoffs vs. the Flyers remains his single top moment witnessed as a Caps fan.  To date.  Close seconds are watching Ovechkin’s first pre-season score in the fall of 2005, and game 5 vs. Philly, last April.

I asked him what he thought was the major difference in the style of Capitals play in the Boudreau era, and since the lockout generally.  “The clutching and grabbing is cut down.  The game is more open and enjoyable.  Boudreau’s style is up tempo and exciting.”

I figured that if the Capitals do win the Stanley Cup anytime soon, that a lifetime season ticket holder like George Karas should have a day with the storied chalice.  “I’d invite my daughters and their families over to drink from the Cup.  They’ve been turned onto hockey by me and my wife.”  Sounds like a perfect expression of what the game of hockey is all about, to me. 

Finally, I asked him if he knew of any other fans who have kept season tickets since year one.  Has Ted, or Abe before him, ever acknowledged him in any special way, as a “founding” season ticket holder?

“I don’t know any in particular.  Shortly after Leonsis took over the team, there was a meeting and he was interested in identifying us.  But nothing came of it.”

If season ticket holders are the lifeblood of a franchise, how then would you characterize a season ticket holder for life?  Ted, are you reading?

[Correction and addendum (12/1/08):  I stated above that George was a season ticket holder for every season of the Capitals’ existence. 

As initially pointed out to me by Capitals majority owner Ted Leonsis, and re-confirmed this morning, George, in fact, did not have full season tickets for three of the 34 Capitals seasons.  Health concerns prevented George from attending a full season’s slate of games during 2005-06, 2006-07, and 2007-08.  During those seasons, he was limited to attending a handful of games, purchasing individual tickets.  We regret any misunderstanding caused by the error.

Thankfully, “the old George Karas” has returned, and he has returned to being a full season holder for this season.  Just this morning, we had a spirited discussion of the Capitals’ latest heroics in battling through so many injuries, and of the seemingly endless depth in Hershey.  George particularly heaped praise on the organization for stockpiling so much talent, at both levels.

Additionally, Ted informed me, over the holiday weekend, that his sales staff is in the process of locating all “founding” season ticket holders, but is hindered in those efforts by a lack of complete record keeping “in the good old days.”  Ted also wants to create a “Hall of Fame” for Capitals fans.  So stay tuned on that front.]