‘Flutie Gang’ wows fans

Monday, March 13, 2000 | 10:47 a.m.

They came to see Buffalo Bills quarterback Doug Flutie play Friday night.

Only this time the skin he used to thrill the crowd was that of a drum, not a pig.

The field was not 100 yards of AstroTurf but a 20-foot stage at Sunset Station's Club Madrid.

The viewers did not number in the millions, but about 600 avid fans.

They were Doug Heads, sort of like the Deadheads -- rabid followers of the late Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead -- but without the attitude and illegal substances.

The audience was dotted with jerseys bearing the name Flutie on the back and the No. 7 on both sides.

Most of the rockers were middle-aged, a few well past -- and some of them used walkers or battery-powered wheelchairs. There were teens with their parents, groups of young men and women, blue and white-collar types sitting side-by-side. It was the sort of mix you might see at a football game rather than a rock concert.

They were there to see Flutie and The Flutie Gang, a five-member group made up of Doug Flutie on drums, his brother, Darren, on guitar and three members of the Boston-based folk-rock band The Mudhens on keyboard and guitars.

The band was average-to-above, but it played with enough talent and enthusiasm to entertain the crowd with selections from a 10-song CD they wrote and recently released called "Ramblin' Scramblin' Man" as well as some of their favorite songs by other artists, such as "Mustang Sally" and "Devil With the Blue Dress On."

The main complaint of the family-oriented show was that the 5-foot-9-inch football legend was barely visible behind the drum set, which had many women groaning and several people changing seats to get a better look at the handsome, soft-spoken, 1984 Heisman Trophy winner.

"If you don't show your face, I'm coming up there," shouted one grandmotherly type who was intoxicated with alcohol or adoration -- or both.

Though Flutie was the obvious draw, the only time he spoke during the show was when he paused to take a drink of Gatorade -- singing was left up to other band members.

Flutie was more visible at Thursday's Mountain West Conference basketball tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center, where he watched Brigham Young upset third-seeded New Mexico, 55-43.

Flutie was wearing a New Mexico jersey as he sat among the fans.

"I had a cousin who played for the Lobos and worked at the university for several years," Flutie, who played at Boston College, explained as he prepared to grab his drum sticks and head for center stage.

Flutie is having fun and raising money for his favorite charity -- the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism -- at the same time.

At the age of 3, Flutie's 7-year-old son was diagnosed with autism, a developmental disorder characterized by withdrawal and lack of communication.

Almost two years ago, Flutie and his wife, Laurie, started the foundation to increase awareness of autism, provide financial support for families of autistic children and to be a source for information.

"The amount of increased awareness since we started the foundation has been fantastic," he said. "I've played games all my life. For the first time, I feel I'm doing something serious."