Tuesday, April 23, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
THESE ARE the playoffs, where the intensity and decibel levels inside a hockey arena are supposed to reach Ozzy Osbourne proportions.
But for the second time in as many outings, the Thunder and Phoenix Roadrunners skated before an Ozzie Nelson-type crowd on Monday night.
The scrawny tally: 5,589 paying customers. Last Wednesday, only 4,365 -- a season low -- showed up for Game 1 at the Mack.
Is it too late to put Cecil Fielder on skates?
This is one time the media can't be blamed for the sparse crowds, as both newspapers have trumpeted Thunder playoff coverage while the TV boys have led their sportscasts with the chase for Joe Turner's Cup. Yet, the average attendance for the first two playoff games is down roughly 3,000 from the regular season.
Attribute it to one or all of the following:
* Season tickets. They aren't honored during the playoffs. Having already paid for 41 home games during the regular season, some season ticket holders might have concluded that a free episode of Melrose Place was the better deal. (They must have been disappointed. MP was preempted Monday night.)
* Group sales. There aren't very many during the playoffs. That means if you work for Saturn of West Sahara, there probably aren't as many free tickets to be had.
* Undesirable dates. Like virtually all minor league franchises, the Thunder draws well on the weekend, usually when it gives away a piece of apparel or plastic with the team logo on it -- or when the Village People perform a postgame concert. During the playoffs, the coveted weekend dates generally are reserved for ice shows and rap concerts. There aren't any free posters or key rings, and the Village People evidently have a previous engagement at the YMCA.
* Weather. With the mercury pushing 90 degrees, there's more interest in playing hooky than playing hockey.
* No tradition. Unlike in NHL cities, where many fans consider the regular season as nothing more than a six-month tuneup for the Stanley Cup playoffs, Las Vegas' neophyte fans apparently haven't snapped to the significance of postseason hockey.
* The minor-league element. The last time the Stars appeared in the PCL playoffs -- if I can remember that far back -- the disinterest was similar. Let's face it -- at the triple-A level, wins and losses are irrelevant to a franchise's success. In the minors, all things are divisible by the entertainment quotient of the games.
* Apathy. Although Las Vegas embraced the Oakland A's during their recent six-game visit, the city's reputation as a live sports town remains suspect.
Which brings us back to all those empty seats Monday night.
Give the core group of Thunder fans full marks for making a racket, especially in the third period. But these are the playoffs, and it's sad that instead of feeding off the crowd, the Thunder finds itself starving for attention.
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