Rush Hulk looks back on years of cheers with joy

A Saskatchewan Rush superfan is hanging up his green rubber Hulk mask for the last time after Saturday’s game.

When the Rush first came to the province from Edmonton in 2016, Kelvin Ooms was an employee at SaskTel Centre.

He said many thought the National Lacrosse League team wouldn’t last in Saskatchewan, “but I think two games in, I knew that this was going to stick around and it was going to generate some excitement.”

Ooms started giving away work shifts so he could watch the games in the stands, drinking beers with other fans.

The first time he dressed up for a game, it was the final game of the Rush’s first season. His friend suggested they don costumes in celebration. Ooms went as Darth Vader, alongside his buddy in a green monkey costume.

“When you’re out and amongst (the fans), it’s so much different than just sitting in your seat,” Ooms explained to Gormley on Friday, “especially if you’re in a character.”

He decided he wanted to create a character that would make kids feel excited about the Rush game environment.

“I knew that if they came to the games because they wanted to see a special character it wouldn’t be long before that youngster, being surrounded by that environment … they would soon fall in love with the game,” Ooms said.

“I hope I brought that. I think I did, but the character just took off.”

After his first game of the 2017 season — when his costume was just rubber Hulk hands, a rubber mask and a jersey with some padding — it started a “roller coaster” experience for Ooms.

Over time, he became a fan favourite at games and the unofficial mascot for the Rush.

He remembered interacting with fans at the game, asking one who owned a Harley Davidson if he would let Ooms ride his bike onto the field for a stunt. Ooms said the Rush has used his character for marketing and he’s been lucky to build a fan base beyond Saskatchewan and across the National Lacrosse League.

He says it’s the “most amazing ride I’ve been on,” and he doesn’t want it to end.

Unfortunately for Ooms and his fans, he said the physical challenge is becoming too significant.

“I’m getting up there. My buddy told me in the very beginning, ‘You realize how old you are, right?’ My body is telling me I can’t do this anymore,” he said with a chuckle.

Between running up and down flights of stairs in an extremely hot suit and his age inching higher, being the Rush Hulk is a ride Ooms now feels he probably needs to disembark from.

That’s not before he was offered the opportunity to attend the Super Bowl (which he turned down because he had a Rush game to attend) and the time Ooms was banned from Calgary’s Saddledome.

He said he thinks the Rush Hulk has set a bar over the past six years. He’s planning to retire the character as of right now, but isn’t opposed to passing on the torch — though he wants to make sure it goes to someone who has the energy to do right by the character.