Gophers

Congrats to them for winning it again, but...

What were they able to do so well against the Wildcats that we didn't do on Thursday? Any thoughts?

I think a big part of it was the actual skill of their players. They looked much better than we have all season that last period. Sorry, they did. That was some crisp hockey, and they showed the individual skill that our teamwork overcame on a regular basis. Basically they beat UNH at their own game. Their individual goal scorers were clearly better than UNH's. That third period was amazing, and I would've never expected that against us. We could have done much better against Minny because we don't play that type of offensive game. Next year hopefully we'll find out for sure.

I'd like to think that if we won the national championship, we wouldn't act like this...

[uscho.com]

I find it interesting that its primarily Minnesota fans that whine incessantly about how many Canadians we have, yet the hero of their national title run is...wait for it... Austrian!

Nothing beats those homegrown Minnesota teams. I wish UNH had won tonight but I think our defense would have made a much better showing against the Gophers. Anyway, congrats to the Gophers (but not their rioting students).

Yes, we are the Faithful, but you have to admit that hockey fans are a relatively small proportion of Cornellians, as opposed to Minnesota, where everyone lives and dies by hockey. There would have been no rioting in Ithaca.

What's a bit disturbing was the version of our "We're gonna beat the hell out of you" cheer that got picked up in this article:

[uscho.com]

I used to be all about crudeness and vulgarity, but on a national stage, it's too bad that WE were labeled as the profane ones.

Oh, for fuck's sake! People hear what they want to hear; most of us say "rough 'em up" and if anyone doesn't realize that, it's their problem. Also, if the author thinks "fuck 'em up" would make a sailor blush, he hasn't met many sailors.

He also apparently wasn't listening to the Michigan fans after every penalty.

John T. Whelan '91 wrote:

He also apparently wasn't listening to the Michigan fans after every penalty.

What were they saying? I couldn't make any of it out, but it sounded like they might have been reciting the entire first chapter of Moby Dick.

I find it funny that 2 of their 3 non-Minnesota players (Potulny, Vanek) are the ones responsible for their two championship winning goals.

Now, here's a DID YOU KNOW? that probably won't be on SportsCenter any time soon ...

While looking at their roster (and observing that they are going to remain very good next year), I noticed that their goaltender Travis Weber played for the US-Under 18 Team before joining the Golden Gophers. Hmm, I thought - did we play the US Under-18 Team while he still played for them? No, we didn't, but just for fun, I looked at the box score of the game we played against the US Under 18 Team LAST season. Now I feel like this HAS to have been mentioned before, but if it hasn't, here ya go - DID YOU KNOW that Jim Howard (now of Maine) was the goalie for the US Under-18 Team last year? So even though LeNeveu and Howard could not face each other in the much anticipated Maine game in Florida this past December (due of course to committments to the WJC), they faced each other LAST December. LeNeveu, of course, got the shutout in the team's 4-0 win.

Okay, so that was long and winded, but I had to start out with a connection to Minnesota because I didn't feel like starting a whole new thread for this

[Q]What were they saying? I couldn't make any of it out, but it sounded like they might have been reciting the entire first chapter of Moby Dick.[/Q]

Read at your own risk... it's not incredible horrible, but it's certainly worse than the mixed Gary Glitter rough/fuck - [www-personal.engin.umich.edu]

It wasn't what Minny did. It was what UNH didn't do, and that was SHOW UP!

Everyone in my section basically felt that UNH played a miserable game defensively and if it wasn't for Ayers, the game would have been over in the first period. It wasn't that Minny was that much better, it was that UNH had apparently played their championship game thursday, and didn't have the same intensity they did against us.

Damn shame. It reflects badly on us that UNH played so poorly.

JH

DeltaOne81 '03 wrote:

[Q]What were they saying? I couldn't make any of it out, but it sounded like they might have been reciting the entire first chapter of Moby Dick.[/Q]

Read at your own risk... it's not incredible horrible, but it's certainly worse than the mixed Gary Glitter rough/fuck - [www-personal.engin.umich.edu]

Very interesting website. I particularly like this one:

The refs call back a Michigan goal:
If this happens, the refs are wrong. Proceed as if Michigan had scored a goal. From this point on, in future goals, count them as though Michigan had scored this goal.

Morons.

I'd sort of like a deal like this at Lynah...


Cottage Inn Pizza has a deal where if Michigan scores 5 or more goals and wins, you can turn in your Hockey ticket stub for half off a pizza. At the game, this sometimes manifests itself by members of the crowd yelling "PIZZA! PIZZA!"

...even though I keep all my hockey stubs. So maybe if all you had to do was SHOW the hockey stub, ....



Post Edited (04-13-03 19:55)

so many similar cheers, down to the last detail (i have heard many "sieves" but not many "it's all your fault."

being partial, i would prefer to think cornellians invented most of these, and they were stolen by michigan. is this true, or did it happen the other way around? (say it ain't so!)

-mike 04

Mike wrote:
being partial, i would prefer to think cornellians invented most of these, and they were stolen by michigan. is this true, or did it happen the other way around? (say it ain't so!)

It's pretty hard to trace or prove most "they stole our cheers" claim, but in this case, there's good evidence. I have newspapers from the Jan '97 Cornell-Michigan game in Ann Arbor, and the same articles are archived on the pep band website. I think this exact topic was brought up on this forum recently.

[www.rso.cornell.edu]

[Q]From the Tuesday 1/7/97 Ann Arbor News:

Yost's Cornell Connection

'91 Series set tone for U-M fans

A successful program can more or less point to a date when things started to come together.

For the Michigan hockey team, that turnaround came during a 1991 NCAA tournament series against Cornell. The Wolverines were finally beginning to put together a team that could compete with the best teams in the nation, but its first tournament appearance under coach Red Berenson brought forth an additional ingredient.

Hosting the best 2-of-3 series at Yost Ice Arena created a general exitement around the hockey program for the first time in years. A large contingent of Cornell fans and its band made the trip to Ann Arbor and did their best to try to take over the building.

Berenson believes that's when U-M fans really developed into a college hockey crowd. "Our program was coming but when we played Cornell, our building just changed," Berenson said. "The Cornell fans brought a lot of theior chants and their tradition to this building. From then on our crowd has taken off."

U-M (18-1-1) hosts Cornell (8-4-2) for the first time since that series at 7 p.m. tonight.

The 1990-91 season was the last time the NCAA used the best 2-of-3 series format to decide the first two rounds of the tournament. U-M and Cornell went the full three games before the Wolverines advanced with a 9-3 victory in Game Three.

U-M fans first heard the cries of "Sieve, sieve, sieve" and "It's all your fault" directed at their goaltender during the series. Now, U-M fans use those chants to help turn Yost into one of the toughest places for the opposing team to play.

"I think it's probably one of the noisier rinks in college hockey," senior forward brendan Morrison said. "I couldn't imagine being a freshman goaltender out there. It's a great advantage for us."

Yost hasn't been a place for most netminders lately as 12 of the last 22 games have seen the visiting goaltender pulled early. Visiting squads in general haven't had much luck either, as U-M has lost no more than twice a year over the past five seasons.

The U-M faithful listened to Cornell fans count up the goals after each score, antagonize the goaltender from the start and even anger the crowd by playing the Michigan State fight song.

U-M adopted and altered many of the cheers, including some of the profane ones.

Jon Wardener [Pep band french horn player class of '79] , an Ann Arbor resident who is president of the Cornell Club of Michigan, recalls his days of watching Big Red hockey as a student in the 1970s. He and 99 other members of the club have tickets for tonight's game.

"Thinking back to some of the things I did as a student, I'd be embarassed to do them now," Wardner said. "We expect to hear the same stuff from the Michigan fans (tonight), though."

Now an avid Wolverine fan - except when they play the Big Red - Wardner sees many similarities between the Yost crowds and the fans at Cornell's Lynah Rink.

"Yost is louder and larger but the spirit and intensity is similar," Wardner said. "The fans in both places are frenzied."

One of the U-M fans' fovorite cheers - a forceful "See-ya" given to an opponent as he enters the penalty box - actually made its arrival before the Cornell series. it had long been used by Duke basketball fans before becoming one of the most enthusiastic chants at Yost.

"I think it's a real effective cheer," U-M fan Mabelle Kirk said. "It emphasizes the fact that we're going on a power play and that the other team did something bad."

Most of the cheers and chants begin with the pep band in the south end zone. it initiates the counting of the goals, antagonizes goaltenders, and sends penalized players away with a drumroll. Berenson claims that the band makes his team a goal or two better at home by helping the crowd get into the game.

"I just love that pep band," U-M fans Mickey Grant said. "That's what really makes these games for me."

"In their fiorst tournament appearance in 14 seasons, not only did the Wolverines learn how tough playing in the tournament was, but the fans realized what it would take to give Yost a real home-ice advantage.

"We learned how good and how hard you have to play to be successful in the NCAA's," Berenson said. "It seems like everybody turns it up another notch."

U-M would get swept by Boston University in the next round but the Wolverines had finally gained an essential piece that would help the program for years to come. [/Q]

I think the only thing that kept UNH in this whole thing was Ayers. He played phenomenal against us. He was awesome through 2 periods vs. Minny. He finally broke down in the 3rd and hence, UNH lost.
A goalie can only hold up a team for so long.
L

While I was in a bar waiting for the second game to start, I was speaking to someone who went to Colgate undergrad and Michigan grad. He told me that he always went to the Colgate-Cornell games at Lynah, and was amazed by the intensity of the fans, and that when he was at Michigan, there was nothing like that. I think he was in school late 80s to early 90s.

Anyway, about halfway through the first period, I stood up and yelled something like "Write your own cheers!" Another Michigan guy saw my jersey and said "Sucks to lose, doesn't it?"

Of course, when filing out, I found the same guy and said, "You're right, it does suck to lose."

My point, though, is that most of their cheers were straight rip-offs from somebody, although I think we'd have a hard time proving that we were the originators.

And another knock on Michigan fans... come championship time, did anyone see the massive void that was formerly the Michigan student section?

Imitation = flattery.

Also...

I have a confession to make. I never personally invented any of the cheers used at Lynah.

But,

I did yell at the Jumbo-Tron to "Focus somewhere else" just one commercial before the booing began on Thursday. For those interested in the booing, it made the Buffalo News in a feature that included many short topics.

Greenberg '97 wrote:
And another knock on Michigan fans... come championship time, did anyone see the massive void that was formerly the Michigan student section?

Yeah, it looked a lot like the Cornell section on Saturday.

Cowbell Guy wrote:

Greenberg '97 wrote:
And another knock on Michigan fans... come championship time, did anyone see the massive void that was formerly the Michigan student section?

Yeah, it looked a lot like the Cornell section on Saturday.

Were we that bad too? I wasn't facing our sections, so I couldn't see that well, but it sounded like we had a good RED during the anthem, a good cowbell cheer, and an excellent hand for Paolini.

Cowbell Guy wrote:

Greenberg '97 wrote:
And another knock on Michigan fans... come championship time, did anyone see the massive void that was formerly the Michigan student section?

Yeah, it looked a lot like the Cornell section on Saturday.

This from a fellow member of Saturday's Cornell cheering section. I have been thinking that there didn't seem to be a nucleus of Michigan fans that stuck around and acted like entertaining doofuses the way we did. OTOH, they would have been all the way across the rink, so we might not have noticed.

But I don't think we should knock the Michigan fans too much; they came out for their team, had fun, and seemed pretty cool when we ran into them in the bars Thursday night (even the guy in the bathrobe).

Whether Cornell or Michigan invented certain cheers or not, at least there is some sort of originality to them. Although some of Michigan's cheers are exactly the same, others are slightly different or completely original. Gotta give them props for that and being loud. I just got sick of their fight song. Thank God I don't have to listen to it at every game.

Let's talk about UNH and Minn. Practically the only thing UNH did was their U-N-H cheer and Go Cats Go. That is it!

As for Minn, their big thing is M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A! MINNESOTA! MINNESOTA! Go Gophers(with the laso hand move)! This is after a goal and practically any time the band plays. But, they don't rip on the goalie after he lets in a goal. Other than that, some of their fans were entertaining with the game motions and bobbing back and forth. Speaking of cursing, one of the Minn fans told me what they say when an opposing player goes to the sin bin. I don't remember what they say but IT DID HAVE CURSING IN IT! But, my big gripe with the Minn fans was HSBC was LIKE A TOMB with only 3 minutes to go. They were sitting on their hands! There was no noise, no "Go start the bus," Na na na na, etc. NOTHING! You are about to win a national championship and you are dead silent! What is up with that?!?!?

BTW, although they are nice to look at, what is up with the Minn cheerleaders? Cheerleaders in hockey?!?!?

Let's Go Red in 2004!

MT'97 wrote:

Let's talk about UNH and Minn. Practically the only thing UNH did was their U-N-H cheer and Go Cats Go. That is it!

As for Minn, their big thing is M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A! MINNESOTA! MINNESOTA! Go Gophers(with the laso hand move)! This is after a goal and practically any time the band plays. But, they don't rip on the goalie after he lets in a goal. Other than that, some of their fans were entertaining with the game motions and bobbing back and forth. Speaking of cursing, one of the Minn fans told me what they say when an opposing player goes to the sin bin. I don't remember what they say but IT DID HAVE CURSING IN IT! But, my big gripe with the Minn fans was HSBC was LIKE A TOMB with only 3 minutes to go. They were sitting on their hands! There was no noise, no "Go start the bus," Na na na na, etc. NOTHING! You are about to win a national championship and you are dead silent! What is up with that?!?!?


Let's Go Red in 2004!

For your second point... I said the exact same thing to the people I was sitting with. I would like to think that if we were on the verge of a national title (even if we had won it the year before), there would be a steady crescendo of excitement starting around the 5:00 mark, working up to a frenzy at the horn.

And for your first point... We were also commenting on how boring UNH was with U-N-H! being their only cheer, until we heard their "spelling" cheers. On letter at a time (Gimme an E!...) until: What's that spell? "EX-LAX!" What's that mean? "GO! GO! GO! GO!"

They had a couple of others ("SCORE! SCORE! SCORE!" and "TEAMWORK! TEAMWORK! TEAMWORK!" but I couldn't tell what words they were spelling.

John T. Whelan '91 wrote:


This from a fellow member of Saturday's Cornell cheering section. I have been thinking that there didn't seem to be a nucleus of Michigan fans that stuck around and acted like entertaining doofuses the way we did. OTOH, they would have been all the way across the rink, so we might not have noticed.

Even if there was such a nucleus, we wouldn't have known, since all their cheers are prompted by the band.

teamwork comes from orgy, and score comes from sex...

Adam J. Doyle wrote:

teamwork comes from orgy, and score comes from sex...

Yawn if you must, but those are failry witty the first time you hear them. Of course, so was the line "Most of us will be going pro in something other than sports."

Marty'74 wrote:

Imitation = flattery.

Jim (I think) wrote on a different cheers thread that newspapers during the lineups came from the University of Scranton. Scranton is spreading that cheer again. I saw Syracuse fans doing the cheer during the final four, and I just figured out today where they got it from.

McNamara, the Syracuse PG is from Scranton, and he has a huge cheering section from his hometown that now goes to Syracuse games. I never would have made the connection if I didn't know the origin of the cheer at Lynah. Thanks, Jim (I think).

MT'97 wrote:

Whether Cornell or Michigan invented certain cheers or not, at least there is some sort of originality to them. Although some of Michigan's cheers are exactly the same, others are slightly different or completely original. Gotta give them props for that and being loud. I just got sick of their fight song. Thank God I don't have to listen to it at every game.

Anyone who has seen Michigan games before can tell you that their band plays 2 songs over and over and over and over. One is their fight song. The other is what we call "Screw BU" known as "Go Blue" to them. One of the few criticisms I had of the FF in Buffalo was that they didn't give enough time for the bands, but when Michigan is there, that's probably a blessing.

[Q]As for Minn, their big thing is M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A! MINNESOTA! MINNESOTA! Go Gophers(with the laso hand move)! This is after a goal and practically any time the band plays. [/Q]
It seems to come after a certain point in their fight song, and I think it's amusing that instead of shouting in tempo "MINN-E-SO-TA" in time, it's rushed and comes out sounding "SODA!! SODA!! YyyyyyyyyeeeeaaaAYYYYY GOPHERS!"

[Q]Speaking of cursing, one of the Minn fans told me what they say when an opposing player goes to the sin bin. I don't remember what they say but IT DID HAVE CURSING IN IT![/Q]

I couldn't pick the wording cleanly in the cavernous arena this weekend, but I sat (and partied) with the Minnesota band in Grand Rapids in the '97 NCAA Regional, and I think it's something along the line of "Whoop Whoop! Whoop Whoop!" accompanied by a drum cadence while the guilty player is skating towards the box, and when the door slams, they continue... "Hey buddy, you're outta here! You suck! You stupid piece of shit!" But my memory is hazy.

[Q]But, my big gripe with the Minn fans was HSBC was LIKE A TOMB with only 3 minutes to go. They were sitting on their hands! There was no noise, no "Go start the bus," Na na na na, etc. NOTHING! You are about to win a national championship and you are dead silent! What is up with that?!?!?[/Q]

Agreed. They had a nice "back to back" chant going after goal #4, but not much else until the postgame. The players were celebrating more than the fans after the empty-netter too.

At least Minnesota won it last year. I was near the BC band during the 2001 Championship game in Albany, and couldn't believe the lack of enthusiasm. They hadn't won in over 50 years, they were 1 minute away, and they were just sitting there like dolts. NDak tied it with just over 30 seconds left. BC won in OT, and the reaction was a couple of high-fives after they played their fight song. I have often dreamed of how ape-shit we Cornell fans would go if we were to win a National Championship, and there they were as if they just took care of Waterloo in an exhibition game.

[Q]I have often dreamed of how ape-shit we Cornell fans would go if we were to win a National Championship, and there they were as if they just took care of Waterloo in an exhibition game.[/Q]

Oh good, I'm not the only one who has those dreams...

errr, they were a much better team than either us or UNH. UNH never had a chance, despite the score.

They don't have any other sports to cheerlead for!

The TV guy mentioned how the arena was full except for the quadrant where the UM fans used to be.

Jason said[Q]They don't have any other sports to cheerlead for! [/Q]Like we have such an abundance. Did you ever see cheerleaders at wrestling or polo?

I know, I know, somebody is going to come up with a picture. So be it.

After hearing us abuse Ayers in the 3rd period, some of the Minnesota fans on the other side of the rink did yell "It's all your fault" at him after the fourth goal. It would be hilarious to hear their fans start doing that at Mariucci next year.