St udents Might Disagree

Parade not a big draw for 'U' students

DETROIT - Maybe all the University students who also profess a love for the Detroit Red Wings were still worn out from their own parade last January.

The throng of red-clad revelers was estimated at 1.2 million - a crowd that could fill ten Rose Bowls. But despite raucous crowds at campus bars and spirited reveling in Ann Arbor's streets immediately following the Red Wing victory, just a few University students actually made the trek to downtown motown for the second-straight Stanley Cup celebration.

They had better things to do than squander a day peeping at superstars and cheering a victory.

ANDY YOUNG/Daily Although an estimated 1.2 million fans gathered in Detroit to celebrate the victory, many University students opted to stay in Ann Arbor.

Education student and recent LSA graduate Jeff Davis, caught the parade last year and could not make it this time around.

"I didn't have a car," Davis said. "I had to work."

Not too many students turned out to see a team owner gliding quickly past at the head of a parade, saving the glory for last-season's backup goalie Chris Osgood, who brought up the rear with his parents, hoisting his prize above his head.

Or even to see 1.2 million people all agreeing on the same thing.

Even when politicians stuck their fractious paws into the revelry, the crowd agreed. And they roundly booed the introduction of Michigan Governor John Engler, who proclaimed June 18 "Red Wings Day" throughout the state. The proclamation quieted the fans somewhat, and Engler managed to draw cheers with his observation of last year's accident that paralyzed defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov and team masseur Sergei Mnatsakonov.

The Red Wings "didn't lose a superstar," Engler said. "They gained a guiding star."

And while a University student would have had to scrupulously avoid newspapers and TVs for over a year now to not hear about the recuperation of Konstantinov and Mnatsakanov, for one day, it was enough to celebrate quietly, from afar.

"about that,"

And what could have topped their memories of their own parade in the sun, anyway?

06-29-98