Zungul Goes Out on Strange, Losing Note : Crowd Emotional, but Divided On Merits of Deal

It was the last time Steve Zungul would be introduced as a member of the San Diego Sockers--but the Sports Arena crowd never heard public address announcer Tony Lovitt call Zungul’s name.

The 10,665 who gathered here Wednesday night were already on their feet, beginning a stirring standing ovation that would last 90 seconds and serve as a fitting tribute to Zungul in his last game with the Sockers.

At first, Zungul blew kisses to show his appreciation. Then he tried three times, unsuccessfully, to silence the crowd by waving his arms. Each time he did, the noise level rose several thousand decibels.

At the end, he appeared to wipe tears from his eyes.

It was business as usual once the game started. At least it was until 52 seconds remained in the first half. That’s when Zungul scored to put the Sockers ahead, 3-1. Ironically, it would be their last goal of the game. The crowd exploded--again--giving Zungul an ovation usually reserved for a last-second, game-winning goal.

The fans were more concerned with giving Zungul a fitting farewell than with venting their anger toward Socker management for selling the MISL’s most prolific scorer Tuesday to the Tacoma Stars for $200,000. The deal didn’t become official until today--that’s why Zungul played for the Sockers Wednesday.

There were no banners demanding owner Bob Bell’s head. The closest one to a protest read: “No! No! “Z” can’t go!”

The only other banner that served as a commentary on the sale, said: “Good luck, Steve. We’re still the greatest.”

But the crowd, the Sockers’ second largest of the season, did boo Bell when given the opportunity. It happened at intermission when Randy Hahn, the Sockers’ radio-TV play-by-play announcer, was introducing the contestant in the “Beat the goalie” shooting contest. He said jokingly that Bell would be the shooter. The crowd immediately responded with a chorus of raspberries.

Not all the fans seemed to disagree with Bell’s decision.

“I think this will give Branko (Segota) a chance to come out from under Zungul’s shadow,” said Judy McGregor, a season-ticket holder from San Diego. “It’s a good deal.

“It will give the league more parity and make the games more interesting.”

But won’t the fact the Sockers sold the indoor game’s all-time leading scorer hurt them?

“Listen, if you got fed some of the balls Zungul gets, you could score, too.”

“I think it’s good for the MISL,” said Sandra Butts of Oceanside. “Whether it’s good for the Sockers remains to be seen, but I think the Sockers still have enough talent to win the championship again.”

On the other side, George Haslam of San Diego said, “It’s Bob Bell’s team and he has to do whatever is best for him. But for me, there’s not enough money to buy a player like Steve Zungul.”

Pt. Loma resident Manny Goulart resented the sale of Zungul and had his own solution.

“If the payroll is a problem, why don’t they get rid of some of the players who are collecting checks but not earning them?

“You know,” he said, “guys like the coach’s son (Guy Newman), (Kaz) Deyna, (Gary) Collier, (Ade) Coker and (Kevin) Crow. Don’t get rid of guys who are playing and earning their money like Zungul.”

Then he smiled, and added: “I guess it’s politics, huh?”

But the people affected most by Tuesday’s transaction were the Sockers themselves. They had a 13-game winning streak broken by the Minnesota Strikers, 4-3.

When the game was over, Zungul returned to field where he was greeted by another round of cheers and applause. There was no introduction. But, as in the game’s beginning, none was needed.