ELynah Forum

I thought the atmosphere was great. I've been to all the MSG games and the Prudential game and this was probably my favorite.

The highlight for me was when the band played Across the Field (Ohio State fight song) late in the third period. As an OSU Law grad, it was a special cap to a special day of Michigan hatred!

And despite my hatred of Michigan, I was very impressed with their draw given how far from Ann Arbor the game was played and, as others have pointed out, that it was the night of The Game. Its often stated how large the NYC alumni/fan base are for UM, Oh. St., Mich. St. etc but it was cool to see it in person.

It also lends credence to the Big Ten's strategy adding Rutgers and Maryland under the theory that they have an east coast presence already, and beefing it up will only add to the Big Ten fan base, Big Ten Network cable subscribers, and ultimately conference revenue. College football talk has been awash with rumors of the Big Ten opening a satellite governance/media office in NYC or Hoboken...

So an annual or biennial game against a Big Ten team might have some legs especially in future years as the Big Ten east coast presence grows.

I'll be at the game with a fellow alum. Anyone else going? Anyone ever been to Houston? Have no idea what to expect in terms of atmosphere, Cornell crowd presence, etc... Bought tickets on a whim because I realized we'd be driving through Troy anyway on our way from NJ to VT for a ski trip.

GO RED!

I am in NJ and have FIOS. Apparently "tape delay" means it won't be shown until Thursday night!

Good footage, interesting questions about the boards. I know that hockey stick blades weren't curved until the late 50s or early 60s. That doesn't mean "lifting" the puck didn't occur, but obviously it became easier to do so with the advent of curved blades.

I have to say I was disappointed by the crowd size, but I do think we outdrew Colgate about 2-1. We sat upstairs next to the band and I think we had a good vantage point of both the rest of upstairs and downstairs. It was most noticeable when we scored, you could judge by the number of people standing that it was probably 60% + Cornell fans.

Also, it is too bad things couldn't come together better for a game at the Rock like this. I am sure that people who went didn't really get any sense of how great the building is with a real crowd there.

Despite how dismayed I am by this thread, I actually decided to use it as motivation and showed it to a handful of alums who were on the fence. The general response was "Wow, those guys are WEEEEEEEEEEAK! I'm in!", and I was able to bump my group up a few.

So I am in, +12.

I had always put Cornell's hockey fandom on par with the most rabid supporters in this country...Ohio State football could play the University of Southeastern Missouri in the "Anchorage Bowl" in the middle of January, and their fans would fill the stadium; Duke basketball could play TC3 in a random HS gym in Montana and sell it out; yet we play a legit. college hockey program w some history and tradition in what is probably the nicest building in the NHL, 7 miles (and a 20 minute train ride) from downtown Manhattan, and we can't provide a good showing? Sad.

Late scheduling, a perceived price increase in the ~$20 range (you get what you pay for!!), and dissatisfaction with what is certainly a legitimate opponent for this (rebuilding) team are poor excuses. Hopefully, a late surge of interest will put some butts in the seats.

Does anyone have clear information regarding which exact sections are "Cornell" sections?

Also, I cannot recommend enough the Prudential Center as a venue. Despite many well-founded preconceptions of Newark, the area around the arena is a huge exception, and there are many good bars and restaurants within walking distance. Of course, the inside of the arena is spectacular too, and you may not feel the need to explore the neighborhood if management has open the full assortment of concession offerings.

Lastly, I have to say, as an alum, I am disheartened by the lack of die hard spirit I see in this thread, with the complaints about the opponent and the ticket prices. Events like this, regardless of opponent or ticket price, represent a terrific opportunity for us to show our support for the university, the athletic program, and the hockey team. They provide great PR opportunities to sell Cornell not only to hockey recruits, but to "regular" students as well. If Cornell hockey is making news in NY/NJ area media outlets for the widespread and rabid support of its hockey team at a major venue like the Prudential Center, it can only help Coach Schafer in his recruiting efforts, and can only draw attention from potential college applicants. Kill, Schafer, kill!

There ARE alumni fan bases for universities in this country who would jump at the chance to watch their school's marquee sport play in a major venue against ANY opponent. You don't need to look much further than the ability of a lot of Southern and Midwestern schools to "travel" (i.e. draw large contingents of supporters) to usually-meaningless football bowl games in random locations, for said evidence.

Come on guys! Let's Go Red!

Hi guys...new to the debate, and I am not saying I feel strongly either way, but I voted in favor of retiring. There was a time when I would have been strongly against the concept, but then I saw how Ohio State retired jerseys for their football team (where they also have number-restrictions, by position category I believe) and I thought it could be emulated, in that it is a very select group (Heisman winners only, +the founder of the program, +the first African American All American  at OSU who also happened to be a member of the Ohio High School, Ohio State Athletics, College Football and Pro Football halls of fame).

http://www.coachtressel.com/tradition/retired_jerseys.php

You have to limit it to a very very select group. I think I'm unsure if I would allow professional accomplishments to weigh on the decision. I am leaning towards "no," in which case only Dryden's number should be retired under the argument that he played before the Hobey Baker award was handed out.

Guys there is an online version of the game Risk taking place at

http://www.gocrosscampus.com/edit/gxcgame.php?game=121

that has all the Ivies playing for control of the Northeast. Yale is killing everyone, but we are "in second place," so new recruits are needed! If you have a valid Cornell.edu email you can join up. There is not a lot of work involved, just sign up, get your armies, and deploy them according to the current Battle Plans which are posted on the main page. You get additional armies each day (turn).

Lets Go Red!