Funny opposing fans at games

I've thought about making this thread and now I've finally gotten around to it. What are some laughable moments you have personally experienced or witnessed from the fans of opposing teams at Lynah or elsewhere? I can think of two in particular...


Back in fall 2012, Yale made its regular-season visit to Lynah for a game that was nationally televised by NBC Sports (the previous NHL lockout was happening). Regardless, I decided to attend the game live and got a seat in my usual vicinity of section E. A few rows above me, there was an older guy (at least 50 I'd say), who was creating quite a ruckus with his loud and rather boisterous support for Yale. He was doing it so much that it got the attention of several other people in the section who usually weren't subject to such opposing fan behavior. Despite this, he continued for most of the game. Yale wound up winning the game in overtime (this was the same season of their Cinderella-run championship) and the guy was mysteriously absent at that moment. Who knows whatever happened to him.



A more recent instance was in winter 2017 when I went to Houston Field House for the first time to see Cornell play in Troy. It was a close game throughout and so everyone was very attentive of what was happening. This included a RPI student sitting near me who fit the "bro" and "jock" stereotypes to a tee. He was dressed in sweatpants and a tank top as if he had just come from from the gym and kept yelling obscenities and less than family-friendly language about how he hated Cornell along with some other gibberish. Myself and the other two guys I was with (one being a RPI alumnus) got quite a laugh out of hearing this likely intoxicated guy while he was on his tirade. When Cornell scored the game-winning goal in the last few minutes of regulation (Kaldis I think), the said student angrily left to wherever he came from.

Macho, macho man...

Yacey's Mom.

Probably about 2007-2010 era ago when Harvard still had "six jerk fans" instead of one, and Light-Brandry was just not-so-Bright. I normally lean against a rail in SRO behind the CU band and just socializing when some keg-walker Harvard jocks did a pointed shoulder bump into me which led to a "hey watch it," "Cornell sucks" back and forth, and the kids thought challenging a 30-something out-of-shape engineer to step outside would make them feel tough, so they kept gesturing me out the side exits to engage. I followed them right up to the door and watched them step outside and the door slam right behind them, locking them out for the rest of the game.

U-H-N! Anyone remember this from the (gosh I'm old) 2002 NCAAs in Worcester, MA? New Hampshire fans had their "UNH" signs in the wrong order.

The guy in Clarkson attire at a Boston Garden ECAC tournament who ate his bag of peanuts without removing the shells. Fiber, I suppose.

If mascots are included as fans....
In the west end bleacher era at RPI, the Cornell fans started a "Warm up the grill" chant for RPI's Red Hawk.

Red Hawk's response was a hands on hip pose.

I was at the Brown game immortalized on the “Live at Lynah” music CD sitting in Section O (then the visitor section). There were a bunch of young, either still in college or just out of college, Brown fans there sitting in the row in front of my group (I was still on the younger side myself) and as the game was getting down to the end they really cranked up the obnoxiousness, turning around and pointing and mocking us and the other Cornell fans in the section. When that game flipped and they lost, watching them mope out of Lynah with their tails between their lags was so delicious. And I love Grady’s call captured on the CD after the go ahead goal: “And the Brown Bears are in SHOCK!” I guess this is more fun at their expense than funny opposing fans. Oh well.

A few that come to mind:
UHN
Super Mom - Princeton mom in 2001 playoffs
Sweater Guy - the unfortunate macho man cow milker
Toss the Midget - sorry Brad Zancanaro
Learn Another Song Guy - Guy at Gutterson with a sign telling the band to learn a new song after playing Davy the fourth, fifth, sixth... Time in a blowout
The CU-NT girls - SLU fans who thought responding to S-L-U... T with CU-NT was a good idea.
Shoe guy - Guy at SLU who got so worked up he took off a shoe and started waving it wildly

Too many individual meatheads yelling or throwing stuff to count.

1990 Cornell vs Colgate football, my sophomore year.
I drove from Ithaca to Hamilton to see a friend from HS, party, and watch the game (in that priority order). Cornell returned the opening kickoff well over midfield and scored just a few plays later. I of course began taunting every fan in my section and jumping around like an idiot. By the end of the game, the score was about 1000-7 in favor of Colgate. I had to borrow a sweatshirt from my friend to go out that night because the only warm clothing I had with me was a Cornell hoodie. It didn't help - the only part of the night I can remember is that at least a few people at every party recognized me as the guy from the game. I was that opposing fan.

djk26
U-H-N! Anyone remember this from the (gosh I'm old) 2002 NCAAs in Worcester, MA? New Hampshire fans had their "UNH" signs in the wrong order.

Oh, yeah, I definitely remember that... I'm the guy who waited until the "U! H! N!" chanting died down, leaving a perfect moment of silence, then yelled, "HEY! DID YOU GET SIX CREDITS FOR THAT ART PROJECT??"

...of which, unbeknownst to me, my future wife took notice.

[elf.elynah.com]

1985 ECAC Tourney in the old Boston Garden.. We happened to be sitting very near the students that year.

When the RPI mascot skated onto the ice (it was some strange thing that looked like a bumble-bee), I thought to myself: "what the fuck is that?" Soon, the kids were chanting: "what the fuck is that?" over & over!

It was as if they were reading my mind (I know, a short story).... On the way home, whenever I lol'ed, my wife said: "I know what you're thinking about".

redice
1985 ECAC Tourney in the old Boston Garden.. We happened to be sitting very near the students that year.

When the RPI mascot skated onto the ice (it was some strange thing that looked like a bumble-bee), I thought to myself: "what the fuck is that?"

I believe it was the (singular?) Swarm.

redice
1985 ECAC Tourney in the old Boston Garden.. We happened to be sitting very near the students that year.

When the RPI mascot skated onto the ice (it was some strange thing that looked like a bumble-bee), I thought to myself: "what the fuck is that?" Soon, the kids were chanting: "what the fuck is that?" over & over!

It was as if they were reading my mind (I know, a short story).... On the way home, whenever I lol'ed, my wife said: "I know what you're thinking about".

I remember that well. I also think 1985 was the year when, after beating Clarkson in the consolation game, RPI and Harvard were doing their warm-ups for the championship game. The Cornell section started with a "Both teams suck" cheer. It made everyone feel better.

nmcorm83

redice
1985 ECAC Tourney in the old Boston Garden.. We happened to be sitting very near the students that year.

When the RPI mascot skated onto the ice (it was some strange thing that looked like a bumble-bee), I thought to myself: "what the fuck is that?" Soon, the kids were chanting: "what the fuck is that?" over & over!

It was as if they were reading my mind (I know, a short story).... On the way home, whenever I lol'ed, my wife said: "I know what you're thinking about".

I remember that well. I also think 1985 was the year when, after beating Clarkson in the consolation game, RPI and Harvard were doing their warm-ups for the championship game. The Cornell section started with a "Both teams suck" cheer. It made everyone feel better.

One of my faves was at the 1981 Championship. Clarkson was up on Providence 3-1 with about a minute left. Many of the Clarkson fans assumed it was over and left before the game ended. But...PC pulled their goalie twice and wound up scoring two goals in the last minute, then won it in OT. The Clarkson fans showed up in the third period of the consy expecting to watch their team in the finals. They were rather dismayed to find that their season was just about over. It's the only time I've ever seen a team pull their goalie twice in the last minute, score twice, and win the game in OT.

That was also the year the faithful started the "It just doesn't matter!" cheer from "Meatballs" during the consolation game.

redice
1985 ECAC Tourney in the old Boston Garden.. We happened to be sitting very near the students that year.

When the RPI mascot skated onto the ice (it was some strange thing that looked like a bumble-bee), I thought to myself: "what the fuck is that?" Soon, the kids were chanting: "what the fuck is that?" over & over!

It was as if they were reading my mind (I know, a short story).... On the way home, whenever I lol'ed, my wife said: "I know what you're thinking about".

Also chanted, "Squash that bug!"

But the best chant from that year was the final when Mike Adessa (RPI) and Bill Cleary (Harvard) were the opposing coaches.






There was still a very large Cornell crowd after our Consolation win over Clarkson. We started early in the first period pointing at Cleary and yelling YOUR COACH IS BALD!!! A few minutes later it was to RPI, YOUR COACH IS FAT!!!

By the second period we would just point back and forth between the benches, like "goalie, sieve," but just with "BALD! FAT! BALD! FAT!" We were sitting down near the Boston media and the Globe were reporters were looking back over the crowd laughing. And one them was saying to his buddy, "Jesus Christ, they're not even playing."

That was the finest Faithful moment I've ever witnessed and it probably has something to do with why I'm still addicted.


Of course, they got the last laugh. Adessa won the National Championship that year, Cleary won it four years later, and we are still waiting.

Beeeej

djk26
U-H-N! Anyone remember this from the (gosh I'm old) 2002 NCAAs in Worcester, MA? New Hampshire fans had their "UNH" signs in the wrong order.

Oh, yeah, I definitely remember that... I'm the guy who waited until the "U! H! N!" chanting died down, leaving a perfect moment of silence, then yelled, "HEY! DID YOU GET SIX CREDITS FOR THAT ART PROJECT??"

...of which, unbeknownst to me, my future wife took notice.

[elf.elynah.com]

So this is not Cornell, but at a women's bball game between Stanford and Tennessee a Tennessee fan had a whiteboard sign saying "Napa bike ridders for Tennessee". The student section spent the entire first half yelling "What's a rid-der?!" in her direction before she got the hint at halftime. But she just crossed out the extra D with a slash through it rather than re-writing it or crossing it out more fully; this *was* a whiteboard, mind you.

Trotsky

redice
1985 ECAC Tourney in the old Boston Garden.. We happened to be sitting very near the students that year.

When the RPI mascot skated onto the ice (it was some strange thing that looked like a bumble-bee), I thought to myself: "what the fuck is that?" Soon, the kids were chanting: "what the fuck is that?" over & over!

It was as if they were reading my mind (I know, a short story).... On the way home, whenever I lol'ed, my wife said: "I know what you're thinking about".

Also chanted, "Squash that bug!"

422.jpg

marty

redice
1985 ECAC Tourney in the old Boston Garden.. We happened to be sitting very near the students that year.

When the RPI mascot skated onto the ice (it was some strange thing that looked like a bumble-bee), I thought to myself: "what the fuck is that?"

I believe it was the (singular?) Swarm.

God bless the internet.

Trotsky

redice
1985 ECAC Tourney in the old Boston Garden.. We happened to be sitting very near the students that year.

When the RPI mascot skated onto the ice (it was some strange thing that looked like a bumble-bee), I thought to myself: "what the fuck is that?" Soon, the kids were chanting: "what the fuck is that?" over & over!

It was as if they were reading my mind (I know, a short story).... On the way home, whenever I lol'ed, my wife said: "I know what you're thinking about".

Also chanted, "Squash that bug!"

But the best chant from that year was the final when Mike Adessa (RPI) and Bill Cleary (Harvard) were the opposing coaches.

Mike-Addesa_RPI.jpg

tumblr_llv7t4aDgB1qc9ic9o1_400.jpg

There was still a very large Cornell crowd after our Consolation win over Clarkson. We started early in the first period pointing at Cleary and yelling YOUR COACH IS BALD!!! A few minutes later it was to RPI, YOUR COACH IS FAT!!!

By the second period we would just point back and forth between the benches, like "goalie, sieve," but just with "BALD! FAT! BALD! FAT!" We were sitting down near the Boston media and the Globe were reporters were looking back over the crowd laughing. And one them was saying to his buddy, "Jesus Christ, they're not even playing."

That was the finest Faithful moment I've ever witnessed and it probably has something to do with why I'm still addicted.


Of course, they got the last laugh. Adessa won the National Championship that year, Cleary won it four years later, and we are still waiting.

I too remember from RPI’s NC season in ‘85 the game at Lynah when not only did we have a robust “YOUR COACH IS FAT” chant, but we also serenaded the large RPI contingent with “YOU LIVE IN TROY”.

scoop85
I too remember from RPI’s NC season in ‘85 the game at Lynah when not only did we have a robust “YOUR COACH IS FAT” chant, but we also serenaded the large RPI contingent with “YOU LIVE IN TROY”.

The thing I remember about that 35-2-1 RPI team is:

1. We played them even in Ithaca and damn near beat them.

2. We were on powerplay against them at the Garden in the SF. They won the faceoff and never lost possession until they killed it. I've never seen that before or since.

That was the best team I've seen live.

Trotsky

scoop85
I too remember from RPI’s NC season in ‘85 the game at Lynah when not only did we have a robust “YOUR COACH IS FAT” chant, but we also serenaded the large RPI contingent with “YOU LIVE IN TROY”.

The thing I remember about that 35-2-1 RPI team is:

1. We played them even in Ithaca and damn near beat them.

2. We were on powerplay against them at the Garden in the SF. They won the faceoff and never lost possession until they killed it. I've never seen that before or since.

That was the best team I've seen live.

Yeah, I didn't remember a lot of the specifics of the game at Lynah, but knew we only lost by one. Only upon seeing the box score did I realize they scored 2 goals late to deny our upset bid; shots were virtually even, so the final score seems an accurate reflection of my memory that we played them toe-to-toe.

Trotsky
There was still a very large Cornell crowd after our Consolation win over Clarkson. We started early in the first period pointing at Cleary and yelling YOUR COACH IS BALD!!! A few minutes later it was to RPI, YOUR COACH IS FAT!!!

By the second period we would just point back and forth between the benches, like "goalie, sieve," but just with "BALD! FAT! BALD! FAT!" We were sitting down near the Boston media and the Globe were reporters were looking back over the crowd laughing. And one them was saying to his buddy, "Jesus Christ, they're not even playing."

That was the finest Faithful moment I've ever witnessed and it probably has something to do with why I'm still addicted.

Of course, they got the last laugh. Adessa won the National Championship that year, Cleary won it four years later, and we are still waiting.

That moment was recently recounted by Joe Bertagna in his farewell piece for CHN

[www.collegehockeynews.com]

(about halfway down, after the image)

scoop85

I too remember from RPI’s NC season in ‘85 the game at Lynah when not only did we have a robust “YOUR COACH IS FAT” chant, but we also serenaded the large RPI contingent with “YOU LIVE IN TROY”.

One of my favs is "Troy is a slum!"

redice

scoop85

I too remember from RPI’s NC season in ‘85 the game at Lynah when not only did we have a robust “YOUR COACH IS FAT” chant, but we also serenaded the large RPI contingent with “YOU LIVE IN TROY”.

One of my favs is "Troy is a slum!"

I recall it as "Troy is a sump!"

I never understood the comments from opposing fans about Troy. Very few RPI students actually live there, and we have a similar opinion about it ourselves.

As to Adessa being fat, Shafer isn't exactly svelte although he has lost weight.

Trotsky

redice

One of my favs is "Troy is a slum!"

I recall it as "Troy is a sump!"

What? Nobody else has any recollections to settle this "slum" vs "sump" discussion?

A long time ago, in the Harkness days, my wife-to-be and I were seated in the east end of Lynah. We noticed some bozos sitting two rows behind us had smuggled in two big packages. We figured it was beer, but were disabused of this conclusion when shortly after the opening drop of the puck a god-awful loud "HONK!!!" blasted the back of our heads. A car battery and a truck horn had been smuggled in. These brutal HONKS! continued, and at the most unpredictable times - like line changes. This fool would park the horn beside him, bell facing up when not in use. After an exciting play I looked back to see if another deafening honk was on the way, just in tine to see a guy in the row behind the horn jerk pour a bunch of beer out of his can into the upraised horn. I watched out of the corner of my eye. Just moments later the horn blower touched wire to battery and a most peculiar stifled moan came out of the horn, then silence. Others had been waiting for this wet horn blowing and were overjoyed. I think Cornell won, but the horn-drowning was the high point of the game.

Beeeej

djk26
U-H-N! Anyone remember this from the (gosh I'm old) 2002 NCAAs in Worcester, MA? New Hampshire fans had their "UNH" signs in the wrong order.

Oh, yeah, I definitely remember that... I'm the guy who waited until the "U! H! N!" chanting died down, leaving a perfect moment of silence, then yelled, "HEY! DID YOU GET SIX CREDITS FOR THAT ART PROJECT??"


[elf.elynah.com]

That game was my senior year...I remember Cornell beating Quinnipiac like Q was a D-III hockey school and then going toe to toe with New Hampshire in the next game. UNH winning that game (and then eliminating Cornell in the Frozen Four the next year) has cemented my New Hampshire animus.

After the New Hampshire game in 2002, their fans (who outnumbered Cornell fans 10-1) started chanting "See you later!" at the leaving Cornell fans. I thought was "CU later" like they were making fun of our school name and I was not amused, since we just lost. We, being "creative" fans, responded by chanting "UHN!" One particular UNH hick responded, "That's (the UHN chant) all you got--we're going to St. Paul (site of the Frozen Four that year) and you're going home!" To which my friend responded, "Yeah, and you'll pump my gas!"

Yeah, Cornell fans can be assholes sometimes, too. I still thought it was funny.

Cornell's winning percentage since the end of the 2002-2003 season: .633 UNH during the same time: .546 Yes, I'm petty.

Jeff Hopkins '82

One of my faves was at the 1981 Championship. Clarkson was up on Providence 3-1 with about a minute left. Many of the Clarkson fans assumed it was over and left before the game ended. But...PC pulled their goalie twice and wound up scoring two goals in the last minute, then won it in OT. The Clarkson fans showed up in the third period of the consy expecting to watch their team in the finals. They were rather dismayed to find that their season was just about over. It's the only time I've ever seen a team pull their goalie twice in the last minute, score twice, and win the game in OT.

Didn't BU do that to Miami in the 2009 National Championship game?

Back in the early aughts, Harvard had a goalie called Dov Grumet-Morris (we usually just called him "hyphen". At the Lynah East game he had a bunch of enthusiastic Cantab groupies who made signs, the most memorable of which read "DO ME DOV". We were so amused by it that when we played them at Lake Placid in 2002, we (a couple of eLFers actually IIRC) made our own "DO ME DOV" sign, and we even got a "DO ME DOV" chant going.

jtwcornell91
Back in the early aughts, Harvard had a goalie called Dov Grumet-Morris (we usually just called him "hyphen". At the Lynah East game he had a bunch of enthusiastic Cantab groupies who made signs, the most memorable of which read "DO ME DOV". We were so amused by it that when we played them at Lake Placid in 2002, we (a couple of eLFers actually IIRC) made our own "DO ME DOV" sign, and we even got a "DO ME DOV" chant going.

In the 1999-2000 season, when Harvard came to visit, seven members of the Lynah Faithful went shirtless and painted "JR SUCKS" on their chests, a tribute to then-senior goalie J.R. Prestifilippo. Alas, Harvard eked out the 2-1 win.

But for Lynah East, the same seven guys traveled to Allston, and painted "JR SUCKS" on their chests again - only to have Prestifilippo get shelled for four Big Red goals and pulled in favor of junior netminder Oliver Jonas. Not even fazed for a moment, the guys recruited three more game traveling Faithful, repainted the R as an A, and quickly spelled out "JONAS SUCKS" instead. Final 6-2, Cornell.

Reportedly, J.R.'s father was highly amused at our guys (at least the first time around), and took it as a sign our fan-base was really wonderful.