The owner was in his element.

John Creedon, Jr., was making the rounds at Holman Stadium during Friday night’s Nashua Silver Knights Futures Collegiate League season opener, and loving every minute of it.

In Creedon’s world, the customer is always right. Food good? Having fun? That’s his deal, and Friday night over 2,000 fans at Holman were doing just that. It’s his 11th Futures League season, half basically as the owner of one team, first the Worcester Bravehearts, and then five as the man for two, the ‘Hearts and the Knights. And now, after selling Worcester, he’s back to one again.

“It feels like we’re where we should be,” Creedon said while his team battled to a tough 5-4 defeat. “It’s just an ideal day for a ballgame. Great crowd turned out, just oodles of enthusiasm. Good vibes, lots of smiles, nothing bad today. It’s great.”

Hard to believe it’s Creedon’s 11th season in the league but even harder to think this is Year No. 14 for the Silver Knights, the longest tenure of any franchise playing at Holman.

“Time flies, I can’t believe I’ve been doing this a decade,” Creedon said. “To sort of think back to all the changes craziness, ups and downs, successes and failures that I’ve been through, the league’s been through, the respective teams have been through is really incredible. I still firmly believe the best days for the Futures League and the summer collegiate model lie ahead.”

Creedon was at the Stadium the last couple of days, all over the place, getting concessions ready, talking to the Park-Rec crew that has the place looking incredible, etc.

“You race the clock,” he said. “And ready or not, it’s Showtime at a certain point, you’ve just got to go.”

And that’s what Creedon loves. The Go Time. The only thing that didn’t happen Friday night was a victory, and sure, you had to think back to last year’s struggles when Knights starter Vinny Civitella, who admitted he’s likely never pitched in front of more than 100 people, gave up three runs to Vermont in the first. But unlike last year, the Knights didn’t let things fester, battled back to take a lead before the Lake Monsters came back. Local product Derek Finlay lost the battle at the end with the tying run at third, but hey, it was just that, a battle with a great atmosphere and great fireworks show after. There will be other battles that Finlay and this Knights team will win.

Great atmosphere. It’s why this team is here, because they entertain. They’re fan friendly. Fun. And with the perfect weather, it wasn’t a total loss.

“It was good, and I thought the guys played hard,” Silver Knights manager Kyle Jackson said of the atmosphere the crowd provided. “They (his players) got the jitters out, a lot of them had never played with that many fans cheering. I think tomorrow will be a better game.”

Of course, this was a different night for Creedon. It was his first as the owner of just Nashua. No other team.

“I love it,” he said. “It simplifies and streamlines my mind, my mode of thinking, I love having a single focus. And I love that this is my connection to the great state of New Hampshire, the wondeful city of Nashua, and the more time I spend in New Hampshire, the more I love it.”

Silver Knights mascot Knoble mingles with the crowd of about 2,000 at Holman Stadium Friday night for the Knights’ season opener. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

But then Creedon said the words that shows he really, really gets it.

“There’s nothing like Holman Stadium,” he said. “There’s something magic about Holman Stadium and the Nashua Silver Knights, it’s past – and it’s future.”

Another Opening Night is in the books. May there be many, many more. Go Time is the best time.

Tom King can be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on X (formerly Twitter) @Telegraph _TomK.

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