Vampires hungry for goals, not blood

The boss has a twisted sense of humor, which is why I wasn't surprised when he told me the first thing I should do when meeting a group of youth soccer players from Transylvania would be to slice open a wrist and see if they came running at the sight of blood. What a kidder, that Joe Hawk.

It's just a coincidence I kept all sharp objects at home and smothered my lunchtime pasta with garlic.

Hand it to Roger Tabor. He outdid himself this year. The man who has made it a habit of drawing players from around the globe to the annual Mayor's Cup International Showcase this year included a Romanian team from Bistrita, a 12th-century town of about 50,000 in northern-central Transylvania that sits on the main rail line from Vienna and Budapest, the route Jonathan Harker took in Chapter 1 of the novel.

Yeah. That novel.

"Dracula."

"You know, I don't really get the whole vampire thing," said Tabor, president of Downtown Las Vegas Soccer, which hosts this weekend's 254-team Mayor's Cup. "But I can't watch the movies."

What he believes any soccer fan should watch at some point over the next few days is a U-16 team thought to be the first Romanian side other than World Cup competitors to set foot on American soil, one expected to prove supreme in the event's most talented division this weekend.

It took more than 40 hours of travel to get here, from Bistrita to Budapest to Amsterdam to Minneapolis to Los Angeles to Las Vegas, a long and tiring journey for, you guessed it, the Blue Vampires.

Their arrival culminates a dream for Florian Dumitru, a U-14 boys coach in the Downtown club who played professionally for 25 years in his native Romania. He was a member of his country's national team, a fantastic player who lived through the Soviet-aligned communist state. Dumitru arrived in the States in 1996 and Las Vegas some eight years later but has never been happier than he is today.

"I think at first it is impossible to get the team here," said Dumitru, 51. "American visas and immigration ... it is crazy. But I was going to do my best at any cost. Soccer is everything to them. It is the one way to escape the poverty. If you are good, you can have everything. You can become like a king. Everyone born there not only wants to become a player but a famous one.

"These kids ... they work so hard. They will do anything to succeed. They like me, start from zero. Soccer gives them character, honesty, duty, responsibility, courage, everything. They will not suck the blood of anyone here but maybe the wallets. No, no. I am just kidding."

They know the history. They are taught it in schools. They have uncovered through books and legend the secrets that live within the dark and creaky and cold walls of those medieval castles still standing in their town back home, the ones where a defender of Christian faith and subhuman monster once strolled in a time of constant war. They know all about Prince Vlad, about Dracula, about the ruler whose favorite method of torture was to impale others on rods while eating bread dipped in their blood.

They have heard it all.

"They know it is not a myth," Dumitru said. "It is a good lesson to learn about the importance of having morals."

It is a hard life for them, because when you are poor and neighbors are dying in their homes when there isn't enough heat to combat the horrific 34-below temperatures, those picturesque views down from the snow-covered peaks and into the thick, lush green of a forest aren't all that important.

Each player journeyed some 300 miles with a parent or guardian to the capital of Bucharest, standing outside for hours in the frigid conditions and hoping their visas for the trip would be approved. They waited and went through the interview process and were told to come back the next day. They did and received good news.

So you can imagine their appreciation when arriving at the 12-room ranch-style home of Ovidiu Ene, a Romanian who has opened his Las Vegas doors to the team. No coffins were visible around the property, and none of the players burst into flames when posing for a picture in sunlight, so I'm assuming if they don't do something crazy like spray each other with holy water after scoring a goal, all will be well.

"People all over the world are scared about Transylvania," 14-year-old team captain Peica Vladut said through an interpreter. "But if you come visit, it is not so scary. It is a beautiful country. People are scared because of the vampire, but they will be more scared when they see how well we play soccer."

A vampire talking trash.

Hand it to Roger Tabor.

He outdid himself this year.

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Matches for the Blue Vampires take place at Bettye Wilson Soccer Complex: The team plays San Juan (Calif.) today at 2 p.m. on Field 5 and the Minnesota Thunder at 7:20 p.m. on Field 4. The Romanians conclude pool play Sunday against Downtown '94 Gold at 12:40 p.m. on Field 5. The final is scheduled for Monday at 2:30 p.m. on Field 5.

Contact columnist Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618.