newsminer.com

It’s good entertainment. And it’s made even better when the hometown team comes out on top.

That sums up Saturday night’s first win by the new Fairbanks Grizzlies in their inaugural season with the Intense Football League. Fairbanks downed the Odessa Roughnecks 22-17 for the first mark in the win column in front of about 3,500 fans at the Carlson Center. The win puts the team’s inaugural-season record at 1-2.

The team has shown great improvement since the calamity of the opening-day shellacking by the Alaska Wild, And the progress is due to hard work of the players and coaching staff. No question about it.

But, as is the norm in sports, the criticisms and critiques are still coming in — not only of the team, but of the organiation and the dance squad that is part of the game-night entertainment package.

The tough comments, just like the team, seem to be a new thing for Fairbanks — at this level, anyway. People are usually a little more reserved when talking about the performance of local high school and college sports. Not so, however, when the subject is a team of paid athletes.

Take the reaction to a comment by Grizzlies coach John Fourcade. The coach, since his public introduction earlier this month, has been getting hammered for his statement of football philosophy: “I have a motto: ‘Win at all costs. Cheat if you must. And don’t get caught.’ It’s worked a lot.”

Harsh comments about that remark, and about other aspects of the Grizzlies, have been tossed about on the Daily News-Miner’s Web site for a couple of weeks now.

“I’ve coached for over 29 years in the Fairbanks area,” goes one recent comment. “Been on numerous championship teams in wrestling as well as football. We always teach hard, honest work will make you a champion. What’s up with ‘cheat to win just don’t get caught?’”

The team may have its online detractors, but has its defenders, too.

“I think Fourcade has done a great job of hiring talent and coaching. ... it’s entertainment. Actually, good entertainment. You don’t like it, don’t go.”

What does all the attention, positive and negative, mean? It means that — love ’em, like ’em, or find ’em just plain silly — the Grizzlies are proving to be a good addition to Fairbanks. The first “W” of the season makes it even better.