Article on Top 10 Lynah Faithful Traditions

Hey guys,

Here is an article I just wrote for the Big Red Sports Network about the Top 10 Lynah Faithful Traditions. Have a read, and feel free to let me know if you think I missed something, or if something is too high/low. Even though I am still an undergrad, being both a season ticket holder and member of the pep band, I have been to almost every home and away game in recent years. But being that many of you have been Cornell hockey fans for over a decade, I would love some feedback. In the upcoming days, there will articles that have the Top 10 Lynah Faithful Cheers, and an article detailing the history of Cornell hockey and its fan base

[bigredsportsnetwork.tumblr.com]

One that I always liked is that immegiately after the opposition scores a goal, the pep band starts a "Let's Go Red!" cheer. if we're going down, we won't do it gently.

In my opinion, toothpaste against Colgate doesn't belong on the list, much less at #5. I'd replace it with "never booing our own team." At least, I hope that's still the case - it's been waaaaay too long since I've been to a home game. I'd also put "Which team is the winning team?" in lieu of "Warm up the bus."

I am not a Cornell fan, so my opinion shouldn't count, but I am surprised that you didn't include the one associated with your handle. It makes more sense to me than several which aren't unique to Cornell. E.g., Cornell isn't the only school whose fans shout "Red" during the anthem or similar shouts for other schools.

ursusminor
I am not a Cornell fan, so my opinion shouldn't count, but I am surprised that you didn't include the one associated with your handle. It makes more sense to me than several which aren't unique to Cornell. E.g., Cornell isn't the only school whose fans shout "Red" during the anthem or similar shouts for other schools.

Ahem, copycats in Troy.

Not playing recorded music. The promotional announcements are relatively limited, too. Though I suppose those aren't really Lynah Faithful traditions but rink management decisions.

Weder
Not playing recorded music.

This is HUGE. Nothing destroys the fan experience more than piped-in music. Nor is Tradition a sure fire defense against it: Notre Dame football just succumbed after a hard fight against it, and I can imagine some moron fresh out of business school thinking it was just the thing to make Lynah more enticing to the vampire squid of advertisers.

Robb
In my opinion, toothpaste against Colgate doesn't belong on the list, much less at #5. I'd replace it with "never booing our own team." At least, I hope that's still the case - it's been waaaaay too long since I've been to a home game. I'd also put "Which team is the winning team?" in lieu of "Warm up the bus."

Yeah, the toothpaste thing is relatively new, and pretty much a response to the Colgate fans' gum thing, which has gone on longer.

As far as "Which Team..." goes, that used to be an honored role. From what I once learned, the leader of the cheer was always the person who got the number 1 line number, back when there was a real, organically formed hockey line, and not a raffle, athletics-organized sleep-over, or online sign-up. That one person would dangle from the old, tall, and seamed-and-sturdy glass and lead the cheer over Section B. I happened to be the "Which Team" guy my senior year for the Schafer reawakening season, and got recognized the rest of the school year by many sleep-deprived and drunk students. Now, it seems that there's no one "leader" anymore, and it's only done after the final buzzer (I got yelled at for trying to start it with a 3 goal lead at UNH with 30 seconds left). I came up with the "N-1" rule for that cheer, which has since been transferred to the keys.

Through the early part of the '90s, the cowbell cheer was performed by the percussion section of the band, and had beome "just another cheer." It wasn't until Age came along (I think) when it was rightfully returned to Section B.

Anyway, the above is moot, since Andrew seems to be listing "traditions" here, and a future "Buzzfeed: Lynah Edition" listicle will list "cheers." Also, this seems to capture the current status of Lynah fairly well. Traditions/cheers evolve and decay as years and classes pass, and this is a good snapshot of 2013.

Trotsky

Weder
Not playing recorded music.

This is HUGE. Nothing destroys the fan experience more than piped-in music. Nor is Tradition a sure fire defense against it: Notre Dame football just succumbed after a hard fight against it, and I can imagine some moron fresh out of business school thinking it was just the thing to make Lynah more enticing to the vampire squid of advertisers.

Some fellow Marching Band Alumni and I were upset when the new video scoreboard was introduced at Schoellkopf. They basically told the band they can't play during breaks anymore because they had to pipe-in music or do some lame "find the ball under one of the three helmets" thing, because now we're all conditioned to turn our heads and watch Television between plays. If Schoellkopf had any real crowd atmosphere worth defending, it might have been worth getting more people involved. If they try to pull that at Lynah, I feel more confident there would be more of an outrage. I think they have toned it down a little bit, and have given the Marching Band a little bit more leeway to do their thing in the stands, but...argh.

Just about every visiting arena the Pep Band travels to now has some intern spinning "OMG JOCK JAMZ!!!1!" in between the two bands for some reason. It NEVER gets any reaction from the crowd (except at Quinnipiac, but...well, you know) and completely spoils the college atmosphere.

RichH

Trotsky

Weder
Not playing recorded music.

This is HUGE. Nothing destroys the fan experience more than piped-in music. Nor is Tradition a sure fire defense against it: Notre Dame football just succumbed after a hard fight against it, and I can imagine some moron fresh out of business school thinking it was just the thing to make Lynah more enticing to the vampire squid of advertisers.

Some fellow Marching Band Alumni and I were upset when the new video scoreboard was introduced at Schoellkopf. They basically told the band they can't play during breaks anymore because they had to pipe-in music or do some lame "find the ball under one of the three helmets" thing, because now we're all conditioned to turn our heads and watch Television between plays. If Schoellkopf had any real crowd atmosphere worth defending, it might have been worth getting more people involved. If they try to pull that at Lynah, I feel more confident there would be more of an outrage. I think they have toned it down a little bit, and have given the Marching Band a little bit more leeway to do their thing in the stands, but...argh.

Just about every visiting arena the Pep Band travels to now has some intern spinning "OMG JOCK JAMZ!!!1!" in between the two bands for some reason. It NEVER gets any reaction from the crowd (except at Quinnipiac, but...well, you know) and completely spoils the college atmosphere.

It's a real bummer that they DO feel the need to fill every break during the women's games at Lynah with music, even though the band now attends most (all?) of those games.

RichH
I came up with the "N-1" rule for that cheer, which has since been transferred to the keys.

"n-1!!!" I think I did "which team" with about 6:45 left in this game. The team went 5/7 on the pp that night... that was the weekend janet reno and gary bettman both came to lynah.

That year, the team won every home game by at least 3 until senior weekend if I'm remembering correctly. I think "which team" only happened once or twice during the handshakes (at home) as a result.

Also, they freaked out about hanging off the seamless glass. I don't know how many folks after me still got up there anyway.

Trotsky

Weder
Not playing recorded music.

This is HUGE. Nothing destroys the fan experience more than piped-in music. Nor is Tradition a sure fire defense against it: Notre Dame football just succumbed after a hard fight against it, and I can imagine some moron fresh out of business school thinking it was just the thing to make Lynah more enticing to the vampire squid of advertisers.

Yes, every time I hear that music, I think of being in a minor league hockey rink. The other thing that is similar is having an announcer, thanks Arthur, that just tells the goal or penalty, without the corresponding minor league, home rink, obnoxious accentuation. I like the, "there, we did it, and we don't need to emphasize it" approach.

Jim Hyla

Trotsky

Weder
Not playing recorded music.

This is HUGE. Nothing destroys the fan experience more than piped-in music. Nor is Tradition a sure fire defense against it: Notre Dame football just succumbed after a hard fight against it, and I can imagine some moron fresh out of business school thinking it was just the thing to make Lynah more enticing to the vampire squid of advertisers.

Yes, every time I hear that music, I think of being in a minor league hockey rink. The other thing that is similar is having an announcer, thanks Arthur, that just tells the goal or penalty, without the corresponding minor league, home rink, obnoxious accentuation. I like the, "there, we did it, and we don't need to emphasize it" approach.

Amen. And none of this "YOUR Brown Bears!!!" nonsense. The Bob Sheppard approach is still the best.

Jim Hyla
Yes, every time I hear that music, I think of being in a minor league hockey rink. The other thing that is similar is having an announcer, thanks Arthur, that just tells the goal or penalty, without the corresponding minor league, home rink, obnoxious accentuation. I like the, "there, we did it, and we don't need to emphasize it" approach.

Another depressing example of the impoverishment of atmosphere was what happened when the MLB teams qualified for the WS this past week. Seconds after the game was won the speakers blared one of the trite anthems that marks those events in every corporate veal fattening pen stadium -- Celebration or We Are the Champions or whatever. All that does is remove anything peculiarly special from what you just saw happen on the field and drown it in the mindless, generic branding of the consumer mob.

People under 30 probably do not know the spontaneous enjoyment of moments like this for their own sake, having lived with the deadening, Harrison Bergeron-like soundtrack of public space all their lives. And maybe not having had it they don't miss it and would be uncomfortable without it. But it is one of the worst legacies of the kidney stone that was the 20th century.

marty

ursusminor
I am not a Cornell fan, so my opinion shouldn't count, but I am surprised that you didn't include the one associated with your handle. It makes more sense to me than several which aren't unique to Cornell. E.g., Cornell isn't the only school whose fans shout "Red" during the anthem or similar shouts for other schools.

Ahem, copycats in Troy.

I have no idea which school did that first, but I will throw this in:

From the Cornell Alumni Magazine Vol 104 No. 4 describing why Cornell's uniforms are bright red
Some give credit to legendary hockey and lacrosse coach Ned Harkness, who came to the Hill in 1963. He changed the color of the hockey uniforms to bright red (perhaps because that was what he was accustomed to, after eighteen years at RPI); other Cornell sports teams followed suit.

Thanks for the input guys! And having been to so many Cornell hockey games (and playing with the pep band so much) I have forgotten that other rinks play prerecorded music. Having the pep band makes it so much of a better atmosphere. And there will be an article listing the 10 best cheers coming very shortly. But I also have to say while there might be some disagreements or accuracy issues, these articles are specifically aimed at Freshmen and other people new to Cornell hockey. I am really hoping that these articles get more people excited about hockey. Lynah isn't sold out this season, mostly due to the nightmare of a season we had last year.

But thank you so much everyone for your input! Please if you have anything more to say feel free. These top 10 Buzzfeed-style articles are meant to spark debates. If you liked this article, and want more coverage on Cornell hockey and other Big Red teams, like us on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/CornellBRSN) and follow us on twitter (www.twitter.com/cornellbrsn)

Smmmmmmack! Oooh! That smarts....

Jim Hyla

Trotsky

Weder
Not playing recorded music.

This is HUGE. Nothing destroys the fan experience more than piped-in music. Nor is Tradition a sure fire defense against it: Notre Dame football just succumbed after a hard fight against it, and I can imagine some moron fresh out of business school thinking it was just the thing to make Lynah more enticing to the vampire squid of advertisers.

Yes, every time I hear that music, I think of being in a minor league hockey rink. The other thing that is similar is having an announcer, thanks Arthur, that just tells the goal or penalty, without the corresponding minor league, home rink, obnoxious accentuation. I like the, "there, we did it, and we don't need to emphasize it" approach.

I see it more as our fans don't need some bush leaguer with a microphone instructing them to get excited about a goal.

Al DeFlorio

Jim Hyla

Trotsky

Weder
Not playing recorded music.

This is HUGE. Nothing destroys the fan experience more than piped-in music. Nor is Tradition a sure fire defense against it: Notre Dame football just succumbed after a hard fight against it, and I can imagine some moron fresh out of business school thinking it was just the thing to make Lynah more enticing to the vampire squid of advertisers.

Yes, every time I hear that music, I think of being in a minor league hockey rink. The other thing that is similar is having an announcer, thanks Arthur, that just tells the goal or penalty, without the corresponding minor league, home rink, obnoxious accentuation. I like the, "there, we did it, and we don't need to emphasize it" approach.

Amen. And none of this "YOUR Brown Bears!!!" nonsense. The Bob Sheppard approach is still the best.

Amen.

ursusminor

marty

ursusminor
I am not a Cornell fan, so my opinion shouldn't count, but I am surprised that you didn't include the one associated with your handle. It makes more sense to me than several which aren't unique to Cornell. E.g., Cornell isn't the only school whose fans shout "Red" during the anthem or similar shouts for other schools.

Ahem, copycats in Troy.

I have no idea which school did that first, but I will throw this in:

From the Cornell Alumni Magazine Vol 104 No. 4 describing why Cornell's uniforms are bright red
Some give credit to legendary hockey and lacrosse coach Ned Harkness, who came to the Hill in 1963. He changed the color of the hockey uniforms to bright red (perhaps because that was what he was accustomed to, after eighteen years at RPI); other Cornell sports teams followed suit.

"Like the swallows returning to Capistrano..."

Quite certain we were the only team doing the "Red" shout in the mid-90s, but I know that our color isn't "Cherry."

And then again, as of only a couple of years ago, Cornell was the only team in the league to have the "It's all your fault!" chant after goals. Now it's happening in most every ECAC arena.

Al DeFlorio
Amen. And none of this "YOUR Brown Bears!!!" nonsense. The Bob Sheppard approach is still the best.

You just reminded me that the last hockey game I saw in person was a 10-0 pasting. "GOAL SCORED BY ... KELLLLLLLLANN JOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNES!!!!!!!!!" is still echoing up there. Gotta fix that.

Do the kids these days still do the remote control goalie? I liked that. Good way to get into opposing goalies' heads. I vaguely remember Nick Boucher getting scored upon when responding to such taunting from Sections A & B when the Big Red FINALLY beat Dartmouth at home my senior year (2003). That really happened, right? It's not just me creating that memory because Boucher was the woooooooooooooooooooorst?

Jerseygirl
Do the kids these days still do the remote control goalie? I liked that. Good way to get into opposing goalies' heads. I vaguely remember Nick Boucher getting scored upon when responding to such taunting from Sections A & B when the Big Red FINALLY beat Dartmouth at home my senior year (2003). That really happened, right? It's not just me creating that memory because Boucher was the woooooooooooooooooooorst?

I thought Boucher's antics were in '99-'00? Finally beating Dartmouth was definitely '03...

The salute should be #1

Jerseygirl
Do the kids these days still do the remote control goalie? I liked that. Good way to get into opposing goalies' heads. I vaguely remember Nick Boucher getting scored upon when responding to such taunting from Sections A & B when the Big Red FINALLY beat Dartmouth at home my senior year (2003). That really happened, right? It's not just me creating that memory because Boucher was the woooooooooooooooooooorst?

We lost the game Boucher gave up that goal, but good god that was wonderful anyway.

Remote control goalie is OK once in awhile, but it is the classic "trap" chant, where the fans get trapped into having to repeat it endlessly when the situation doesn't cooperate. There was a game several seasons ago where the crowd chanted it for 90 solid seconds during a time when we were fighting off a ferocious assault on our own goal, and it was painful. STFU and root for our defense.

BearLover
The salute should be #1

I had no idea we stole the salute. The first time I saw it was at Lynah and I thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Trotsky

BearLover
The salute should be #1

I had no idea we stole the salute. The first time I saw it was at Lynah and I thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Schafer brought the salute with him when he came back from Western Michigan. It didn't originate at Cornell. To say that "Cornell has been given credit for popularizing this tradition" is really an overstatement.

ACM

Trotsky

BearLover
The salute should be #1

I had no idea we stole the salute. The first time I saw it was at Lynah and I thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Schafer brought the salute with him when he came back from Western Michigan. It didn't originate at Cornell. To say that "Cornell has been given credit for popularizing this tradition" is really an overstatement.

But it is nice to watch the team wait for all the opposing players to get off the ice. Few others, I'm not sure any ECAC teams, do that. Anybody sure of any others?

Chris '03

RichH
I came up with the "N-1" rule for that cheer, which has since been transferred to the keys.

"n-1!!!" I think I did "which team" with about 6:45 left in this game. The team went 5/7 on the pp that night... that was the weekend janet reno and gary bettman both came to lynah.

That year, the team won every home game by at least 3 until senior weekend if I'm remembering correctly. I think "which team" only happened once or twice during the handshakes (at home) as a result.

Also, they freaked out about hanging off the seamless glass. I don't know how many folks after me still got up there anyway.

"Good goalie! Bad goalie! Janet Reno!"

It's become less common during the Schafer era, with his emphasis on defense, but there was a time when Cornell frequently (as in once every 2-3 games) beat teams by 4, 5, or more goals. Although not unique to Cornell, at these moments the fans would cheer, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 ... We want MORE,"

ACM

Trotsky

BearLover
The salute should be #1

I had no idea we stole the salute. The first time I saw it was at Lynah and I thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Schafer brought the salute with him when he came back from Western Michigan. It didn't originate at Cornell. To say that "Cornell has been given credit for popularizing this tradition" is really an overstatement.

I've been to almost every ECAC hockey rink and the majority of them do a "Lynah Salute" type thing. I'm pretty sure none of those schools did that until Cornell did it, but I may be mistaken

Chris '03

Jerseygirl
Do the kids these days still do the remote control goalie? I liked that. Good way to get into opposing goalies' heads. I vaguely remember Nick Boucher getting scored upon when responding to such taunting from Sections A & B when the Big Red FINALLY beat Dartmouth at home my senior year (2003). That really happened, right? It's not just me creating that memory because Boucher was the woooooooooooooooooooorst?

I thought Boucher's antics were in '99-'00? Finally beating Dartmouth was definitely '03...

http://collegehockeystats.net/9900/boxes/mcordar1.j24

Josh '99

Chris '03

Jerseygirl
Do the kids these days still do the remote control goalie? I liked that. Good way to get into opposing goalies' heads. I vaguely remember Nick Boucher getting scored upon when responding to such taunting from Sections A & B when the Big Red FINALLY beat Dartmouth at home my senior year (2003). That really happened, right? It's not just me creating that memory because Boucher was the woooooooooooooooooooorst?

I thought Boucher's antics were in '99-'00? Finally beating Dartmouth was definitely '03...

http://collegehockeystats.net/9900/boxes/mcordar1.j24

I remember the game... just not the part where both teams scored at 9:56 of the 1st!

Chris '03

Josh '99

Chris '03

Jerseygirl
Do the kids these days still do the remote control goalie? I liked that. Good way to get into opposing goalies' heads. I vaguely remember Nick Boucher getting scored upon when responding to such taunting from Sections A & B when the Big Red FINALLY beat Dartmouth at home my senior year (2003). That really happened, right? It's not just me creating that memory because Boucher was the woooooooooooooooooooorst?

I thought Boucher's antics were in '99-'00? Finally beating Dartmouth was definitely '03...

http://collegehockeystats.net/9900/boxes/mcordar1.j24

I remember the game... just not the part where both teams scored at 9:56 of the 1st!

I don't remember that either...

I also posted this on the Band Top 10 Playlist thread.

My first time in Lynah, I got there about half an hour early. The lights over the ice were off, and the rink was dark and ominous. Then, as the team waited in the tunnel, the band started playing the the Peter Gunn Theme as the boys skated onto the ice. The Red skated around the rink and then its half. First a few, then more and more players took shots. There was something jazzy and classy about it, and yet ominous and menacing. Like red sharks getting ready to feast on their prey. And I was hooked.

Not surprisingly, I find a certain similarity between the Peter Gunn Theme and this theme from a film about sharks.

ScrewBUHarvardtoo
But being that many of you have been Cornell hockey fans for over a decade, ...

A few of us have been following Cornell hockey since the 1950's, so we have a slightly different perspective. My undergraduate years were late 60's and early 70's, but I had grown up in Ithaca. A tradition that has been eliminated in recent years was a real line for season tickets. We lined up in Barton Hall starting about Thursday in anticipation of sales on Sunday morning. That was serious business.

David Harding

ScrewBUHarvardtoo
But being that many of you have been Cornell hockey fans for over a decade, ...

A few of us have been following Cornell hockey since the 1950's, so we have a slightly different perspective. My undergraduate years were late 60's and early 70's, but I had grown up in Ithaca. A tradition that has been eliminated in recent years was a real line for season tickets. We lined up in Barton Hall starting about Thursday in anticipation of sales on Sunday morning. That was serious business.

Sure, but real men from the 60s had to line up, and spend the night, outside Teagle. None of that, stay inside, have a party while waiting, stuff for us. That was when True Hockey Fans were formed.

I came back to Ithaca after graduate school and stood in line for tickets as an "adult." Of course, as an adult, I got to keep those seats when the season ended. Still have them more than 35 years later.

Jim Hyla

David Harding

ScrewBUHarvardtoo
But being that many of you have been Cornell hockey fans for over a decade, ...

A few of us have been following Cornell hockey since the 1950's, so we have a slightly different perspective. My undergraduate years were late 60's and early 70's, but I had grown up in Ithaca. A tradition that has been eliminated in recent years was a real line for season tickets. We lined up in Barton Hall starting about Thursday in anticipation of sales on Sunday morning. That was serious business.

Sure, but real men from the 60s had to line up, and spend the night, outside Teagle. None of that, stay inside, have a party while waiting, stuff for us. That was when True Hockey Fans were formed.

70s-80s, too.

It wasn't until my senior year that they moved the line inside the baseball practice area, but you didn't get to go inside until 6PM. And before 6 you still waited outside until they opened the doors. Senior year it was raining.

Jeff Hopkins '82

Jim Hyla

David Harding

ScrewBUHarvardtoo
But being that many of you have been Cornell hockey fans for over a decade, ...

A few of us have been following Cornell hockey since the 1950's, so we have a slightly different perspective. My undergraduate years were late 60's and early 70's, but I had grown up in Ithaca. A tradition that has been eliminated in recent years was a real line for season tickets. We lined up in Barton Hall starting about Thursday in anticipation of sales on Sunday morning. That was serious business.

Sure, but real men from the 60s had to line up, and spend the night, outside Teagle. None of that, stay inside, have a party while waiting, stuff for us. That was when True Hockey Fans were formed.

70s-80s, too.

It wasn't until my senior year that they moved the line inside the baseball practice area, but you didn't get to go inside until 6PM. And before 6 you still waited outside until they opened the doors. Senior year it was raining.

Who can forget the great mid-'90s tradition of mailing in your ticket application over the summer? Worked out great for me since I lived in Ithaca.

Jim Hyla

David Harding

ScrewBUHarvardtoo
But being that many of you have been Cornell hockey fans for over a decade, ...

A few of us have been following Cornell hockey since the 1950's, so we have a slightly different perspective. My undergraduate years were late 60's and early 70's, but I had grown up in Ithaca. A tradition that has been eliminated in recent years was a real line for season tickets. We lined up in Barton Hall starting about Thursday in anticipation of sales on Sunday morning. That was serious business.

Sure, but real men from the 60s had to line up, and spend the night, outside Teagle. None of that, stay inside, have a party while waiting, stuff for us. That was when True Hockey Fans were formed.

60's? Hell, we did that in 83 and 84.

That was one of the great Cornell hockey traditions and it's a shame it has gone the way of, well, pretty much everything else cool. Although truth be told it was rife with abuse. It was odd how one frat boy would somehow morph into his whole house 15 minutes before the door opened.

Chris '03

Jerseygirl
Do the kids these days still do the remote control goalie? I liked that. Good way to get into opposing goalies' heads. I vaguely remember Nick Boucher getting scored upon when responding to such taunting from Sections A & B when the Big Red FINALLY beat Dartmouth at home my senior year (2003). That really happened, right? It's not just me creating that memory because Boucher was the woooooooooooooooooooorst?

I thought Boucher's antics were in '99-'00? Finally beating Dartmouth was definitely '03...

Conflation on my part indeed. Have we publicly acknowledged that he bears a striking resemblance to The Sherminator from American Pie?

Chris '03

Josh '99

Chris '03

Jerseygirl
Do the kids these days still do the remote control goalie? I liked that. Good way to get into opposing goalies' heads. I vaguely remember Nick Boucher getting scored upon when responding to such taunting from Sections A & B when the Big Red FINALLY beat Dartmouth at home my senior year (2003). That really happened, right? It's not just me creating that memory because Boucher was the woooooooooooooooooooorst?

I thought Boucher's antics were in '99-'00? Finally beating Dartmouth was definitely '03...

http://collegehockeystats.net/9900/boxes/mcordar1.j24

I remember the game... just not the part where both teams scored at 9:56 of the 1st!

It was a faster-paced game in those days.

Trotsky

Jim Hyla

David Harding

ScrewBUHarvardtoo
But being that many of you have been Cornell hockey fans for over a decade, ...

A few of us have been following Cornell hockey since the 1950's, so we have a slightly different perspective. My undergraduate years were late 60's and early 70's, but I had grown up in Ithaca. A tradition that has been eliminated in recent years was a real line for season tickets. We lined up in Barton Hall starting about Thursday in anticipation of sales on Sunday morning. That was serious business.

Sure, but real men from the 60s had to line up, and spend the night, outside Teagle. None of that, stay inside, have a party while waiting, stuff for us. That was when True Hockey Fans were formed.

60's? Hell, we did that in 83 and 84.

That was one of the great Cornell hockey traditions and it's a shame it has gone the way of, well, pretty much everything else cool. Although truth be told it was rife with abuse. It was odd how one frat boy would somehow morph into his whole house 15 minutes before the door opened.

I kind of wish they'd had a real line when I was in school; of course, I wasn't really as enthusiastic about going to classes as I should've been, so spending a few days in line would've suited me fine.

Jim Hyla
Sure, but real men from the 60s had to line up, and spend the night, outside Teagle. None of that, stay inside, have a party while waiting, stuff for us. That was when True Hockey Fans were formed.

Yeah...but that was a one-time deal for the season. In the early 60s, after Ned's arrival, we stood outside each game waiting for the doors to open at 6:30 for an 8:00 start, then sat in the dark waiting for the lights to go on when the teams came onto the ice 70 minutes later. Otherwise you wouldn't get in. A full house welcoming roar for the team coming out of the locker room was sweet, and will never be repeated.

Now people straggle in after 7 and think they're on-time.

Trotsky

Jim Hyla

David Harding

ScrewBUHarvardtoo
But being that many of you have been Cornell hockey fans for over a decade, ...

A few of us have been following Cornell hockey since the 1950's, so we have a slightly different perspective. My undergraduate years were late 60's and early 70's, but I had grown up in Ithaca. A tradition that has been eliminated in recent years was a real line for season tickets. We lined up in Barton Hall starting about Thursday in anticipation of sales on Sunday morning. That was serious business.

Sure, but real men from the 60s had to line up, and spend the night, outside Teagle. None of that, stay inside, have a party while waiting, stuff for us. That was when True Hockey Fans were formed.

60's? Hell, we did that in 83 and 84.

That was one of the great Cornell hockey traditions and it's a shame it has gone the way of, well, pretty much everything else cool. Although truth be told it was rife with abuse. It was odd how one frat boy would somehow morph into his whole house 15 minutes before the door opened.

That behavior, as well as what I remember being described as a near-riot sometime around 1991 caused a lot of the changes. If my mind hasn't warped the stories too badly, I believed several people were physically injured with a crush of people all pushing against a chain-link fence near Schoellkopf in the 1991 line. Then they did the thing in the early-00s (?) where they announced the line-number location over email, leading to a mad sprint across campus (and traffic). As critical as I am with the fake-line "sleepover" thing, it was an attempt to maintain some semblance of dedication and line tradition.

RichH

Trotsky

Jim Hyla

David Harding

ScrewBUHarvardtoo
But being that many of you have been Cornell hockey fans for over a decade, ...

A few of us have been following Cornell hockey since the 1950's, so we have a slightly different perspective. My undergraduate years were late 60's and early 70's, but I had grown up in Ithaca. A tradition that has been eliminated in recent years was a real line for season tickets. We lined up in Barton Hall starting about Thursday in anticipation of sales on Sunday morning. That was serious business.

Sure, but real men from the 60s had to line up, and spend the night, outside Teagle. None of that, stay inside, have a party while waiting, stuff for us. That was when True Hockey Fans were formed.

60's? Hell, we did that in 83 and 84.

That was one of the great Cornell hockey traditions and it's a shame it has gone the way of, well, pretty much everything else cool. Although truth be told it was rife with abuse. It was odd how one frat boy would somehow morph into his whole house 15 minutes before the door opened.

That behavior, as well as what I remember being described as a near-riot sometime around 1991 caused a lot of the changes. If my mind hasn't warped the stories too badly, I believed several people were physically injured with a crush of people all pushing against a chain-link fence near Schoellkopf in the 1991 line. Then they did the thing in the early-00s (?) where they announced the line-number location over email, leading to a mad sprint across campus (and traffic). As critical as I am with the fake-line "sleepover" thing, it was an attempt to maintain some semblance of dedication and line tradition.

I think that latter one was... 2005? The 2005-2006 season. The location wound up being Lynah, or at least the Lynah entrance to Bartels. It was the first year I was "lining up" for tickets, and I remember all my friends taking the ramp and getting stuck there while I went up the grass in the front and got ahead of them. It wasn't a super-dangerous crush, but it was a least a fairly-dangerous crush. I'm sure some people got hurt at least a little.

I have another article coming up about the history of the Lynah Faithful (I'll post it here when it's up) and I do mention camping out for tickets, and how back then the true fans would line up outside Lynah hours before games. I also make a plea to student to actually show up early to games (can't tell you how much it pisses me off when the student section is not even half full when the puck drops). Lynah becomes much more intimidating when it's full when it's full. I also say that people should support the women's team more, as it would be great if they could sometimes play in front crowds as big and rowdy as men's games

ScrewBUHarvardtoo
Lynah becomes much more intimidating when it's full.

Right about the time when Harvard was supplanting BU as the arch rival, the building was just as full and loud when the players would do the pre-game skate. That was when the visitor, particularly Harvard for Fish and Fowl, would get the full shock and awe of the crowd -- since once the game is on athletes are very good about just shutting the crowd out. You could tell the great players -- the MacDonalds and Fuscos -- absolutely loved it and were probably motivated to play even better, but the third and fourth line guys could often be seen scanning the crowd and thinking, "WTF is wrong with these people, and have I had all my shots?"

ScrewBUHarvardtoo
I have another article coming up about the history of the Lynah Faithful (I'll post it here when it's up) and I do mention camping out for tickets, and how back then the true fans would line up outside Lynah hours before games. I also make a plea to student to actually show up early to games (can't tell you how much it pisses me off when the student section is not even half full when the puck drops). Lynah becomes much more intimidating when it's full when it's full. I also say that people should support the women's team more, as it would be great if they could sometimes play in front crowds as big and rowdy as men's games

Tickets should not cost $240 when every other sport is free. That's the problem.

BearLover

ScrewBUHarvardtoo
I have another article coming up about the history of the Lynah Faithful (I'll post it here when it's up) and I do mention camping out for tickets, and how back then the true fans would line up outside Lynah hours before games. I also make a plea to student to actually show up early to games (can't tell you how much it pisses me off when the student section is not even half full when the puck drops). Lynah becomes much more intimidating when it's full when it's full. I also say that people should support the women's team more, as it would be great if they could sometimes play in front crowds as big and rowdy as men's games

Tickets should not cost $240 when every other sport is free. That's the problem.

I was wondering how much tickets cost in Al's get there early era of the 60's. I'm also wondering how much season tickets cost me circa 1971.

marty

BearLover

ScrewBUHarvardtoo
I have another article coming up about the history of the Lynah Faithful (I'll post it here when it's up) and I do mention camping out for tickets, and how back then the true fans would line up outside Lynah hours before games. I also make a plea to student to actually show up early to games (can't tell you how much it pisses me off when the student section is not even half full when the puck drops). Lynah becomes much more intimidating when it's full when it's full. I also say that people should support the women's team more, as it would be great if they could sometimes play in front crowds as big and rowdy as men's games

Tickets should not cost $240 when every other sport is free. That's the problem.

I was wondering how much tickets cost in Al's get there early era of the 60's. I'm also wondering how much season tickets cost me circa 1971.

If you can remember the 60's you were not there.

marty

BearLover

ScrewBUHarvardtoo
I have another article coming up about the history of the Lynah Faithful (I'll post it here when it's up) and I do mention camping out for tickets, and how back then the true fans would line up outside Lynah hours before games. I also make a plea to student to actually show up early to games (can't tell you how much it pisses me off when the student section is not even half full when the puck drops). Lynah becomes much more intimidating when it's full when it's full. I also say that people should support the women's team more, as it would be great if they could sometimes play in front crowds as big and rowdy as men's games

Tickets should not cost $240 when every other sport is free. That's the problem.

I was wondering how much tickets cost in Al's get there early era of the 60's. I'm also wondering how much season tickets cost me circa 1971.

Couldn't tell you how much season tickets cost, because I never had them. General admission to the hockey games (and lots of other athletic events) was through the CUAA (Cornell University Athletic Association, I guess) coupon book, which was simply a book of numbered coupons that cost something like $25. Each event was assigned a number, and you tore the corresponding coupon out of the book and handed it to the usher / gatekeeper as you walked in.

ACM

marty

BearLover

ScrewBUHarvardtoo
I have another article coming up about the history of the Lynah Faithful (I'll post it here when it's up) and I do mention camping out for tickets, and how back then the true fans would line up outside Lynah hours before games. I also make a plea to student to actually show up early to games (can't tell you how much it pisses me off when the student section is not even half full when the puck drops). Lynah becomes much more intimidating when it's full when it's full. I also say that people should support the women's team more, as it would be great if they could sometimes play in front crowds as big and rowdy as men's games

Tickets should not cost $240 when every other sport is free. That's the problem.

I was wondering how much tickets cost in Al's get there early era of the 60's. I'm also wondering how much season tickets cost me circa 1971.

Couldn't tell you how much season tickets cost, because I never had them. General admission to the hockey games (and lots of other athletic events) was through the CUAA (Cornell University Athletic Association, I guess) coupon book, which was simply a book of numbered coupons that cost something like $25. Each event was assigned a number, and you tore the corresponding coupon out of the book and handed it to the usher / gatekeeper as you walked in.

I can fill in the data point for the '90s even though I never bought student tickets (band) as being about $6-8 per game, probably increasing to $10/game by the later part of the decade. For the final game of the dreadful '93 season, some students wore paper bags over their heads with "$84 for this?" written on the front. Mind you, this was also the era where students were NOT admitted free to other ticketed events such as football, basketball, and lacrosse. I don't remember what student tickets cost for those, but it was probably in the $5 ballpark.

The face price per ticket for the years I had season tickets:

1997-98 $10 (12)
1996-97 $10 (12)
1995-96 $9 (12)
1194-95 $9 (11)
1993-94 $8 (10)
1192-93 $9

The number in parentheseis is the face price for the Harvard game. I'm pretty sure students got a $2 discount off of the face price during these years.