SASKATOONEXPRESS - January 21-27, 2019 - Page 1
Saskatoonʼs REAL Community Newspaper
Volume 18, Issue 3, Week of January 21, 2019
The Rush Hulk Kelvin Ooms gets the crowd going at Rush games Kelvin Ooms has become part of the Rush family, championship ring and all. (Photo by Cam Hutchinson) Cam Hutchinson Saskatoon Express hen Kelvin Ooms was young, his favourite superhero was the Hulk. He had a recorder and added a gizmo from Radio Shack to allow him to slow the tape down. He would growl into the device and then rip a piece of fabric to emulate the Hulk. “When I played that back, it was the most incredible hulk sound you have ever heard in your life,” he said, chuckling at the memory. Little did he know that 40 years later he would be the Saskatchewan Rush Hulk, pumping up fans and selling the sport to children at National Lacrosse League games. Ooms’ path to being the Rush Hulk started when he wore a Darth Vader costume to the game when the team won the 2016 championship. A friend of Ooms’ wore a green gorilla suit that night. “One of the first things I realized from the moment I stepped into the arena was
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the impact it had on the fans. I noticed how much they liked it. What really impressed me was the kids, and how it affected the kids at the game.” That night he was invited to celebrate the championship on the field. “It was a cool experience and I thought, ‘You know what, I want to do something that is out of the ordinary; something that is different; I wanted to develop a character that was mine.’” It didn’t hit him initially to become a Hulk. “I thought for a long time and couldn’t come up with anything.” It was staring him right in the face. “Early-goers of the Rush games might remember a 10-foot, 12-foot fibreglass statue of the Hulk. What happened at one of the games is a fan who had consumed a little too much beverage hung on the arm and broke it off.” It was destined for a landfill or recycling facility. “I’m a bit of handyman so I told the
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owner’s group, ‘don’t throw it away, I’ll fix it.’ I spent a lot of spare time trying to fix this hulk arm, and that’s when the wheels started turning. “Hmmm, hulk green, the Rush green and Aaron Bold, our goalie at the time, had the Hulk painted all over his helmet. I thought, ‘That’s it, let’s do the Hulk.” He wanted a special costume, not one that could be purchased at a toy store. He searched online and found a place in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where silicone masks are made. Ooms bought the Hulk mask and arms. He added padding and a Rush jersey and off he went into SaskTel Centre to get the crowd going . . . and going . . . and going. He pounded the glass so hard that he shorted out the shot clock. “I thought at that time, ‘This is all about the fan interaction and creating that excitement,” he said. “The game is already exciting enough, and if I can just add to it a little bit that’s what I wanted to do, especially the way it appealed to the young kids.”
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He called the reaction remarkable. He wanted more though. He had the Hulk arms and mask, but he was wearing jeans. “So I started looking for a costume. I remembered seeing an episode on Myth Busters, where the guys were talking about a place in Tacoma, Washington, where they make professional suits. I looked and sure enough, they made a mega-muscle suit in the green fabric.” He bought it. He thanked the Rush organization for chipping in. It’s easy to spend more than a few thousand dollars on a suit. He is grateful that the Rush accepted him. “I can’t speak highly enough of this group: the ownership, the Urban family, the office staff, the players; I mean everybody. They have embraced the character of the Rush Hulk wholeheartedly. It’s been a journey; it’s been a ride. It’s been so much fun and I feel very much a part of the family.” (Continued on page 6)
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