Shams snared on the Web

Crowley's site a hit for Shams on the Web

or seven years, Ed Crowley wanted to accelerate onto the information superhighway. The only problem was that faster, sleeker and sexier vehicles zoomed by in the fast lane, leaving him tooling around in a sputtering piece of Pintoish equipment.

     Purchased in 1991, his Macintosh Ilsi, by today's standards, had aged all too poorly. So this past February, the former Digital educational consultant purchased a Gateway Systems PC, a Lexus-like computer personalized for each user's needs. Armed with his new and muscular toy, Crowley, who retired in 1993, gave his Macintosh to his grandson and set out to surf the Internet.

     While the majority of point-and-clickers would be content with simply sending e-mail or checking online , stock quotes, Crowley ventured into the realm that terrifies casual computer users: creating his own web site.

     "I had taken some courses, but it's one thing to sit and get dazzled in a classroom and then forget all about it two weeks later," Crowley said. "The best way to learn something is to learn it when you need to do something. It's surprising how well you retain it."

     And being a football fan and Marlborough Shamrocks fan since 1970, a web site on his favorite team certainly sounded appropriate. After initial construction began in late May, Crowley has had his Shamrocks site up and running for four full months, attracting more than 10,000 hits in September alone.

     "It amazes me that so many people haven't heard of them," Crowley said. "They don't get much press. Some people I know would say, 'What are the Shamrocks?' They don't even know they exist."

     Crowley didn't know much about them before he moved to Marlborough in 1970. But he began following the team that year and every season since, watching every home game and even traveling to some of the away sites. He doesn't go on the road as often these days, but he's trying to spread the word about the country's most successful semi-pro football team via his web site.

     Currently, Crowley has links recapping the 1998 season so far and the upcoming playoffs along with a link to the Shamrocks' official web site. But Crowley admits he has much work to do on his site, this season and next.

     "I'm having a lot of trouble finding stuff," Crowley said. "It's not very clean to navigate around it. I've made a lot of mistakes."

     Crowley said his biggest problem is with his current web program, Microsoft. Publisher, which makes construction of the site relatively simple but prevents him from making changes. His Internet Service Provider, located in Cambridge, also charges him extra for every hit above 10,000 his site receives each month.

     But Crowley is confident he can improve his site. After all, his web publishing career hasn't even lasted half a year yet.

     "That's what happens when you don't do specific planning up front," Crowley said. "Until you actually do it, then you can say 'now I understand, that's what I should have done.' "

     Crowley might not give himself enough credit, but he's gotten positive feedback from web surfers around the country as well as Marlborough residents. Shamrocks coach Bob Brennan has awarded him season tickets, but even free passes might not be as exciting as receiving e-mail messages from remote towns such as Grand Rapids, Mich.

     They had a team out there that wanted to challenge the Shams, and they had my e-mail address" Crowley said. "I said, 'Hey buddy, all I do is publish a web site.' "

     Crowley also received a message from a web surfer in Pennsylvania before the Shamrocks' game several weeks ago against the Central Penn Piranha asking for directions to Kelleher Field and an e-mail from a Utah State graduate living in Framingham who was interested in either playing or becoming an assistant coach for the Shamrocks next season.

     Crowley even received e-mail from a woman he posted a message to on Micosoft's home page asking for suggestions on how he could improve his site.

     "She thought it was pretty good;" Crowley said. "But she said with the Shamrocks' Irish background, she expected to see a lot of green. She also mentioned things like the blue text that clashed with the theme of foot. ball and fall. She reoommended brown and she gave me some other helpful hints too."

     Crowley had eventually hoped to complete the Shamrocks' site and present it as a model to other businesses in hopes of establishing simiJar sites. But he likes the pace usually spending 10 hours working on the site each week and admits he's doing it for fun.

     "I get personal satisfaction," Crowley said. that's all I'm going after. I'm not going to make any money. If somebody comes up and says 'Hey, that's neat, I really like what you're doing,' that's all I need. That makes me happy."

     You can check out Crowley's Shamrocks' web site at:

         http://world.std.com/~ecrowley/shamrocks.html,

or email him at:

         ecrowley@world.std.com.