Time to root for ECAC/IVY

The loss is still fresh, nonetheless we should suck it up and root for Harvard in the NCAAs. The ECAC gets so little respect (due in part to Harvards poor past showings). For this perception to change, the ECAC teams in the tourney have to win. Like it or not, in recent years the ECAC has been represented by Cornell and Harvard.

I am an ardent supporter of the Big Red, but I would love to see Harvard beat Maine (even though I live in Maine) Perhaps somewhat improbable but we could get another shot at them this year.

Chris

Right. Root for your own kind first: Ivy schools or our neighbors at Colgate, Clarkson, or St. Lawrence. Or Penn State in football. Maybe BC in basketball. (Well, maybe.)

Other than the fact that they're West not East and our first opponent, I kind of like that a little school such as CC does so well at hockey. CC is probably more like Colgate with better ski conditions that like Cornell, but still a decent school.

Fuck that. Every time Harvard has a chance to win where it might benefit us (say, the last 13 Beanpots), they manage to screw things up. I've been able to bring myself to root for them (albeit quietly) in situations like that where them winning could actually be good for us, but I have no desire to see Harvard win another national championship. Go Black Bears.

I will not root for Harvard to make the Frozen Four.

I think Harvard has a pretty favorable draw, but I am rooting for MSU to make the Frozen Four.

I would enjoy seeing Harvard end their season with yet another NCAA first round loss. I think it would be terrible if we were to exit earlier than them.

To each their own, I guess, but I'm still sour from the loss and have an astounding lack of perspective. I hope Maine crams sixteen goals down John Daigneau's throat and Donato cries on the bench on national TV. "EZAC" chants be damned. If anybody's going to shut that up, I want it to be Cornell.

... but maybe not this year.

Maine was not impressive at the Everblades. If they play that way against Harvard, there's a good chance the Crimson will advance.

I don't want Sucks to win a game either. If any of the other ECAC teams made it, I'd root fr them. But not Harvard. Not now. Not ever.

I'll be rooting for every eastern school and after that, any team that's not from the WCHA. I have to, I can root for Wisconsin. I have a cousin that goes there.

Harvard is more like us than we want to admit. There but for the grade of God, we'd be wearing VE RI TAS sweatshirts.

(I actually mistyped grace of God ... but maybe the fingers had it right.)

I am rooting for a strong ECAC showing in the tourney for both Cornell and Harvard. That being said, I know how you feel about H, there is NO WAY I want SLU(t) going before we do. NEVER.NOPE.NO WAY.NO HOW.
Good Luck, boys!
Cheers!
Drew

Clarkson had the misfortune to have what was probably the best team in school history, with an awesome goalie, play against what might have been the best team in college hockey history in 1970 for the NCAA title.

I will not root for Harvard. A thousand EZAC chants is better than another NC for Harvard. Here's to a one-and-out for Harvard.

Kyle

krose
I will not root for Harvard. A thousand EZAC chants is better than another NC for Harvard. Here's to a one-and-out for Harvard.
Kyle

A college founded in 1636 certainly has a lot of history. Including the one-and-done routine.

Don't forget their undefeated "cheating" team that skipped out on the NCAA tourney! Here are two appropriately colored smilies.

nr53

harvard_sucks.jpg

WHERE is that from? It's wonderful.

By putting cheating in quotes I see we are both on the same page.

google image search for "harvard sucks". According to the blog i found it in, its a hack done by MIT. For having a good engineering school full of tons of crazy people, Cornell is pretty lame with its pranks. I wish we had done that instead of MIT

nr53
For having a good engineering school full of tons of crazy people, Cornell is pretty lame with its pranks. I wish we had done that instead of MIT

I dunno..."TC3 SUCKS" doesn't have quite the same ring

Screw those bastards!!! I hope Maine kicks the snot out of them.

I have no interested in seeing Harvard even score another goal this season.
LGBB.
By the same analogy...if you were a Yankee fan would you root for the Red Sox to win the World Series. Or if you were a Giant fan...do you have interest in seeing the Eagles win the Super Bowl. NO Freakin way.
I still find it great when the Braves lose in the first round of the playoff.

yeah, unfortunately I am going to hope that hahvahd wins a game in the tourney this year. In fact, I hope they do well, just no title.

Whats done is done. I hate Harvard with a passion and will never root for them against Cornell. But, looking at the bigger picture there is a reason to root for them against teams from other leagues. With only 2 ECAC teams in the NCAA tournament the league reputation is at stake. This has import to scheduling out of conference games and recruiting in the future.

Chris

I absolutely cannot bring myself to root for Sucks - especially when their inexplicable, cavalier attitude over on USCHO seems to be "If we can't win it all, we'd rather not win any games at all." If they happen to win two rounds, and so does Cornell, and we get to play them in the semifinal in Milwaukee, I will be absolutely ecstatic, especially as it will piss off all the western fans. But I wouldn't count on it and would rather see them go home after a brutal pasting by a suddenly hot Maine team.

Beeeej

MattShaf
I have no interested in seeing Harvard even score another goal this season.
LGBB.
By the same analogy...if you were a Yankee fan would you root for the Red Sox to win the World Series. Or if you were a Giant fan...do you have interest in seeing the Eagles win the Super Bowl. NO Freakin way.
I still find it great when the Braves lose in the first round of the playoff.

I see myself as an American League guy rather than National League guy becasue I grew up in an AL-farm team city. But to me the analogy breaks down because it's play-for-pay in the pros and that makes it harder to transfer affections from Team A to Team B within the league.

I do feel some affinity for other Ivy schools because we have that same common, academically oriented, clenched-teeth, Mayflower-descendant, New Yorker-reading. Fortune 500-CEO heritage. (Heh!) I'd also rather see Stanford or Duke (um, maybe Duke) win an NCAA tournament than Albabama or Miami (scrapes with the law Miami, not Buckeye State Miami) because I think they share some academic values. Ditto Colgate, RPI, Clarkson.

As a practical matter, when Cornell and Harvard both make the Frozen Four this year, it enhances the league's reputation.

Beeeej
I absolutely cannot bring myself to root for Sucks - especially when their inexplicable, cavalier attitude over on USCHO seems to be "If we can't win it all, we'd rather not win any games at all." If they happen to win two rounds, and so does Cornell, and we get to play them in the semifinal in Milwaukee, I will be absolutely ecstatic, especially as it will piss off all the western fans. But I wouldn't count on it and would rather see them go home after a brutal pasting by a suddenly hot Maine team.

Beeeej

It's one thing to root against Harvard when the players act like jerks and make obnoxious comments about the Cornell team and fans, as many of them did in the late 80s and early 90s. From what I know, this team is not like that and Donato has always been respectful of Cornell, even in his playing days. So basically, you're rooting against Harvard because you don't want their fans to have the satisfaction; however, it seems to me that the ship has sailed on that one for this season. Unless we beat Harvard in a more meaningful game later this post-season, we've already lost the bragging rights for 2005-2006!

Particularly in light of the disrespect shown towards ECACHL teams by fans of other conferences, and by schools against whom ECACHL teams are trying to schedule games, I think it's in the league's interest (and therefore Cornell's interest in the long run) to see Harvard do well. Not to mention that if Harvard gets pasted by Maine, after the year the Black Bears have had, what does that say about Cornell?

That lack of respect for ECACHL teams is the distinguishing characteristic as to why a Cornell hockey fan can root for Harvard but a UNC hoops fan will not be rooting for Duke, despite the ACC connection.

nr53
google image search for "harvard sucks". According to the blog i found it in, its a hack done by MIT. For having a good engineering school full of tons of crazy people, Cornell is pretty lame with its pranks. I wish we had done that instead of MIT

A hack as in someone photoshopped the image, or as in they hacked into the traffic thingy and made it actually say Harvard sucks? If it's the latter, we have a good engineering school that might be able to do likewise...

cmoberg
Whats done is done. I hate Harvard with a passion and will never root for them against Cornell. But, looking at the bigger picture there is a reason to root for them against teams from other leagues. With only 2 ECAC teams in the NCAA tournament the league reputation is at stake. This has import to scheduling out of conference games and recruiting in the future.

I agree with this. But then again, I didn't find myself hating Harvard after Saturday. They were the better team playing the better game. Cornell's had the best team in the conference from 2001-02 through 2004-05, a strong four-year run which netted 2 conference championships and a trip to the F4. They're now in the process of altering their game, and we'll see if that means reloading or rebuilding. But a team that comes and takes the crown is worthy of respect, just as BU was Back in the Day.

Now, when BU ascended above Cornell in 1974, the Big Red gradually slid towards the national oblivion that it took Schafer 25 years later to rescue them from. This time around, hopefully we're just looking at a speed bump.

CUlater 89
So basically, you're rooting against Harvard because you don't want their fans to have the satisfaction

That would be a bonus; it's not my sole or even primary reason, and if you thought it was, I didn't express myself well.

CUlater 89
Not to mention that if Harvard gets pasted by Maine, after the year the Black Bears have had, what does that say about Cornell?

As opposed to what it says about Cornell that Harvard lost to Quinnipiac and took one out of four points from Union? It says very little. There is no "Transitive Property of Hockey Victories," no matter how entertaining it is to follow the "championship belt."

Beeeej

Trotsky
Cornell's had the best team in the conference from 2001-02 through 2004-05, a strong four-year run which netted 2 conference championships and a trip to the F4.

And during that time Harvard still netted two conference titles, one at our expense. If they had even one Cleary Cup to show for it I'd be less annoyed.

nyc94
And during that time Harvard still netted two conference titles, one at our expense. If they had even one Cleary Cup to show for it I'd be less annoyed.

Five straight finals is nothing to sneeze at.

Don't get me wrong. Harvard sucks. And their abyssmal NCAA run has wrung the title of "worst NCAA chokers" from Clarkson. But we should give both discredit and credit where it's due.

Trotsky
Five straight finals is nothing to sneeze at.

I'm not. I just wish their regular season accomplishments reflected it so that every March it isn't "oh great, here's Harvard peaking at the right time". If you're saying that we had the better team I don't think it's crazy to be annoyed that they have the same number of titles, more if you count this year.

Don't get me wrong. Harvard sucks. And their abyssmal NCAA run has wrung the title of "worst NCAA chokers" from Clarkson. But we should give both discredit and credit where it's due.

Agreed.

Beeeej

CUlater 89
So basically, you're rooting against Harvard because you don't want their fans to have the satisfaction

That would be a bonus; it's not my sole or even primary reason, and if you thought it was, I didn't express myself well.

I guess the word "especially" threw me off.

Beeeej

CUlater 89
Not to mention that if Harvard gets pasted by Maine, after the year the Black Bears have had, what does that say about Cornell?

As opposed to what it says about Cornell that Harvard lost to Quinnipiac and took one out of four points from Union? It says very little. There is no "Transitive Property of Hockey Victories," no matter how entertaining it is to follow the "championship belt."

Beeeej

Regardless of whether there is a "Transitive Property of Hockey Victories," you know as well as I do what most of the vociferous college hockey fans will say. And perception matters in recruiting and in game scheduling.

The latter I believe. Can't be too hard to do though, just have to have a good reason

Okay, now that the wounds have healed, now it's time to suck it up and support the Cantabs.

Nope, still not rooting for them. Here's hoping for a fifth consecutive one-and-done for the Crimson.

jtwcornell91
Okay, now that the wounds have healed, now it's time to suck it up and support the Cantabs.

I'll be rooting for Harvard, as long as they aren't playing Cornell.

redliner

jtwcornell91
Okay, now that the wounds have healed, now it's time to suck it up and support the Cantabs.

I'll be rooting for Harvard, as long as they aren't playing Cornell.

This year's rooting order for me:

1) Cornell (duh)
2) Harvard
3) Anybody playing Michigan or Maine.
4) Anybody playing a WCHA opponent
5) The minor conferences

jtwcornell91
Okay, now that the wounds have healed, now it's time to suck it up and support the Cantabs.

I don't know if the wounds have healed but I apparently subconciously ended up putting on some light blue under clothing...which if all signs hold, doesn't look well for Maine today.