STARRY-EYED FANS FLOCK TO SEE D-BACKS' PRIZE TROPHY FEVER SWEEPS ARIZONA Arizona Republic - Phoenix, Ariz. Author: Kelly Ettenborough Date: Jul 9, 2002 Start Page: A.1 If only the 2001 World Series trophy signed autographs, too. Months after the Diamondbacks won the championship, the trophy has become quite the celebrity, well traveled and often photographed. On game days, the gold and silver trophy serenely sits in its case on the main concourse at Bank One Ballpark. Fans line up 10 deep at the Holy Grail of baseball, yet politely step aside to accommodate individual photographs. "When they start baseball, that's what they dream of," Leslie Havriliak, an Ahwatukee Foothills mom, said after she snapped photos of sons Justin and David with the trophy. "Everyone is feeling it with them." On its off days, the trophy meets and greets: Tucson and Hermosillo, Sonora, spring training games, a minor league fund-raiser in Missoula, Mont., a Phoenix Art Museum after-hours party, a Taco Bell in Cottonwood. The team wanted to share the trophy with Arizona, said Valerie Dietrich, executive assistant to the Diamondbacks' vice president and general manager. But, they had no idea the frenzy this would inspire. She keeps a separate calendar for the trophy's appearances. An estimated 10,000 to 15,000 season ticket holders and their family and friends came to the ballpark for a free photo with the trophy, said Charlene Vasquez-Inzunza, director of ballpark attractions. A few wives brought photos of their out-of-town husbands to include in the picture. More than one family rescheduled vacations so all family members could be in the photo. One person wanted a picture of the trophy for a loved one who was dying of cancer and could not come. "It's huge for the state of Arizona," Vasquez-Inzunza said. "We've never won any championships before. It's part of them as well. They are going to carry this memory of them taking this picture of the trophy forever." The trophy will be at Vineyard Christian Fellowship of North Phoenix for a photo op Aug. 1718 in conjunction with a church night at the ballpark. Word leaked out before the official announcement, and members were calling to ask if it was true, said Bob Wild, Vineyard's business manager. "It's not just about selling tickets. We feel it's about creating community in the Valley," Wild
said. "A World Series championship is elusive. I think the norm for sports franchises is to lock up the trophy in the franchise's trophy case and let the people come to the trophy." At the Cottonwood Taco Bell, 600 people began lining up at 7:30 a.m. for a noon appearance of the trophy in February. "The people were just ecstatic that it was here in Cottonwood," said Grace Lahr, owner of the Taco Bell. "They were wrapped along our parking lot, and they were down 89A. It was unbelievable." Jeff Rodin arrived an hour and half late with the trophy and needed a police escort into the parking lot. No one complained. Everyone got a picture. "It was insane. It was like the Beatles came to Cottonwood," said Rodin, the Diamondbacks training centers manager. The real kicker, though, came on the way back to the Valley. Rodin came out of the McDonald's at Cordes Junction to find his pregnant wife talking to a fan who spotted the trophy, in its clear case, in the seatbelt of the backseat of the Diamondbacks-logo SUV. She had all the doors locked and the window cracked. The Florida man was telling a long story about how he was on his way to Salt Lake City for the Olympics. Yes, he was a Yankees fan and he had Yankees' spring training tickets but he really liked the Diamondbacks. Mostly, he really needed a picture. Rodin obliged. He's used to getting stopped. A staff member can take the trophy places, and Diamondbacks' sponsors can borrow the trophy under certain conditions, most involving security. Taking the trophy out can be a bit nerve-wracking, Rodin admitted. No one wants to be the one who drops the trophy or loses the trophy. But deep down, Rodin said they're not too worried. "What are you going to do? Put it on e-Bay?" Rodin said.