Defeated U.S. presidential candidate John McCain is urging Phoenix to support the Coyotes and keep hockey in the desert.
Sen. John McCain, the grand marshal at a NASCAR race in Phoenix Sunday, is clearly a hockey fan.
"I'm glad to see the Coyotes won (Saturday), and I hope they can stay," he told the Arizona Republic. " We're going to have to increase the fan base, that's all there is to it. I think winning takes us a long way."
McCain said the Coyotes have a strong history in Arizona and the 2009 Coyotes remind him of some other competitive Coyote teams.
"I remember when they first came, Keith Tkachuk, Jeremy Roenick, WhiteOut in the desert, playoffs, Roenick with the broken jaw, those were exciting times," McCain told the newspaper.
"I admire and love (former coach) Wayne Gretzky, don't get me wrong, we all do," he said. "But I think if there's been a shocking development in the league, it's been the turnaround of the Coyotes in a very short period of time.
"So if I would ask our citizenry to do anything, I would ask them to consider coming out to a hockey game and watch this team play," he said.
