As far as Franklin McIntosh is concerned, bygones will be bygones when he puts on a Spirit jersey for the first time.
He trusts Baltimore fans will think the same and embrace him.
The Spirit traded for McIntosh yesterday, sending Tarik Walker and Steve Boardman to the Harrisburg Heat in exchange, thereby acquiring the player that Baltimore fans love to hate.
Because he prospered for Harrisburg against the Spirit, fans here taunted him. Unable to restrain himself, he sometimes replied with yells and obscene gestures of his own.
"I guess they thought I was one of the better players for Harrisburg," McIntosh said by phone from his offseason home in Atlanta. "They were just trying to get me off my game with those taunts. They resented me, called me names and threw things.
"But that's part of being a professional athlete. We have to take that. It's an emotional thing. They've said things and I've said things back to them, sure."
McIntosh, 31, a native of England, is the National Professional Soccer League's all-time leading scorer with 743 points in seven seasons, and was No. 8 last season with 151. In his first pro season, 1987-88, after he was drafted out of New York Tech, he played in 17 games for the Blast of the old Major Soccer League.
McIntosh was particularly effective against the Spirit. The past two seasons, he scored 70 points in 15 games, including 22 in four playoff games. He was the leading scorer in last year's two-game Baltimore-Harrisburg playoff with 13 points.
"Franklin's scoring stats tell the story," said Spirit coach Dave MacWilliams. "He adds a key ingredient to the team. He's dangerous on restarts and free kicks and has played in a lot of big games. He certainly improves our offensive expectations and gives us another weapon up front."
McIntosh, idle all season as a Heat contract holdout, will join the Spirit early next week and probably be available for the Dec. 9 and 10 games against the Buffalo Blizzard and Detroit Rockers at the Baltimore Arena.
"I'm 70 to 80 percent in shape," McIntosh said. "There's no substitute for game action and all I've done is play in local [Atlanta] leagues. The competition isn't much. Practice once a week and play on Sunday, that's about it."
Walker, NPSL Rookie of the Year last season and leading rookie scorer with 73 points, has been limited by knee and ankle injuries to nine points in nine games. Boardman, 30, a defender in his eighth indoor season, has five blocks and three points.
SPIRIT TONIGHT
Opponent: Milwaukee Wave
Site: Baltimore Arena
Time: 7:35
Radio: WWLG (1360 AM), WAMD (970 AM)
Outlook: After dropping two road games, the Spirit is home, where it is 41-5 over two-plus seasons. At 7-4, the Spirit is two games behind the Cleveland Crunch (8-1) in the National Professional Soccer League's American Division. Cris Vaccaro, limited to 30 minutes in the past seven games because of a
pulled hamstring and then a strained back muscle, is probable in the goal. Leading scorer Kevin Sloan is questionable with a sprained toe. Omid Namazi, a 28-year-old defender-midfielder who spent a summer with the Maryland Bays, signed with the Spirit yesterday and will be available. Ex-Spirit Michael King leads Milwaukee with 23 points. Milwaukee can present coach Keith Tozer with his 200th NPSL victory tonight.