Throwing Objects

[A-19]

why oranges?

[French Rage]

[quote A-19]why oranges?[/quote]

It helps fight off the scurvy so omnipresent in the Albany area.

[WillR]

[quote A-19]why oranges?[/quote]


When i was at Union i was told Hamilton threw them against Union so we did the same against them.  A standard tit fot tat kind of thing.  When Union went D1 someone had to take Hamilton's place and logically enough it was the cross town rival at RPI.  I don't even recall any discussion, it was basically that we need to throw oranges at a hockey game and RPI was clearly the most deserving of it.

Of course a better question of why Hamilton threw oranges at union is something i don't know.

-WillR

[Trotsky]

http://spec.hamilton.edu/sports.cfm?action=display&news=1026

Merit and future of Citrus Bowl debated at SA
By Laura Barry Nov. 04, 2005
Student Assembly (SA) is currently in the process of determining the fate of the Citrus Bowl, known in recent years as the Orange Bowl. SA debated what, if any, activities it would fund or endorse at their meeting on Monday. The debate will continue this coming Monday, when SA President Michael Blasie '07 believes SA will finish debate and vote on the future of the Hamilton tradition. SA has set aside $3,000 to fund t-shirts and freebies such as noise makers or inflatable hockey sticks, to distribute at the November 18 game.

The Citrus Bowl is a long standing Hamilton tradition that takes place at the first men's hockey home game of the season. For years, fans pelted the opponent's goalie with tennis balls and oranges after Hamilton's first goal. Although no one seems to remember when the tradition started, the tradition continued to be strongly supported until a controversial game on November 18, 1994 against Wesleyan, and its status as a tradition in the Hamilton community has remained precarious ever since.

Instead of throwing the traditional tennis balls and oranges, fans threw live and dead mice, an inflatable African-American doll, sausage, various species of fish, and hundreds of pieces of fruit. It took five people and a 10 minute interruption to clear all the debris off the ice. The controversial story made national news, even being covered by Sports Illustrated. It was not the type of publicity, however, that Hamilton College wanted to generate. The danger to the players on the ice, as well as the racist and sexist implications concerning the inflatable African-American doll, led former President Eugene Tobin to ban spectators from the next home game against Hobart College.

The Citrus Bowl tradition continued until two years ago when it was renamed the Orange Bowl and students were no longer allowed to throw oranges on the ice. T-shirts and other paraphernalia have been funded by SA for the last two years as an incentive to refrain from throwing objects. Since the creation of the Orange Bowl, the Athletic Department and Campus Safety have been cracking down on the Citrus Bowl tradition by locking the doors when too many students come in and confiscating certain objects students bring in.

The Citrus Bowl, a student tradition that never received official endorsement from the College, was brought to an end officially because of the NCAA ruling that no objects could be thrown on the ice without a penalty to the team and difficulties scheduling an opponent.

Athletic Director David Thompson declared that the Citrus Bowl exhibited Hamilton College's inhospitality to visiting teams, since teams were invited to play and then were accosted by fans. Since he has been coaching at Hamilton, he has believed "it had never been a positive thing, [and] it got to the point where it was really out of control."

There was also the threat of being thrown out of the league, and the dangerous repercussions of a player possibly having a serious debilitating injury from an object thrown or possible objects staying on the ice after cleaning. As Thomson stated, "all you need is one seed."

Blythe Winchester '08, co-chair and founder of the Social Traditions Committee, believes "it is extremely important to continue the tradition anyway that we can." The Social Traditions Committee has come up with several solutions to the problem; however, a compromise has not yet been reached at SA.

Some representatives in SA, however, are concerned with funding the Orange Bowl because they believe it is an event for only one sports team and is gender biased because it only supports the men's hockey team.

Gus Katsuras, Captain of the men's hockey team, asserts that the Orange Bowl is a tradition that all Hamilton students can participate in and the Student Assembly is not funding the men's hockey team, but the tradition.

Many suggestions have been put forward to SA; one suggestion is to turn the Buff and Blue game, traditionally a scrimmage between the Hamilton hockey players, into the Citrus Bowl. There would be a trophy at the end for the team that won and fans could throw oranges at the team which let in a goal first.

Katsuras and teammate Gabe tash '06 attended last Monday's SA meeting and said they did not like this idea because they did not want oranges thrown at them.

The hockey team provided SA with another suggestion, which was for spectators to buy orange nerf balls that could be thrown over the nets when Hamilton scored its first goal; the money would be donated to a charity. The nerf ball idea would, as Katsuras declared, "provide an incentive for students to maintain the tradition." The plausibility of this idea was a point of contention at the meeting, considering that the NCAA does not allow anything to be thrown on the ice.

"The nerf ball idea is very creative, but I don't believe that Athletics is going to tolerate any objects thrown onto the ice," Blasie said.

Another suggestion was the option of a pep rally, which would be at the Field House and would recognize all winter sports. The pep rally could work in conjunction with the Orange Bowl or alone.

SA will finish its debate on Monday and come to a conclusion. One thing, Blasie said, that all could agree on is that everyone sees the value in an event like the Orange or Citrus Bowl.

"If I had to generalize, I think that everyone likes the environment that the Orange Bowl has had ￜ the type of energy and excitement. But it's a question of the Assembly's involvement in that," he said. "It's great to be there, and I think everyone would love the support and unity that comes from it."

[Josh '99]

[quote Trotsky]*snip*

Blythe Winchester '08, co-chair and founder of the Social Traditions Committee, believes "it is extremely important to continue the tradition anyway that we can." The Social Traditions Committee has come up with several solutions to the problem; however, a compromise has not yet been reached at SA.

*snip*[/quote]Wouldn't you figure someone named "Blythe Winchester" would go to Harvard?

[Trotsky]

[quote jmh30][quote Trotsky]*snip*

Blythe Winchester '08, co-chair and founder of the Social Traditions Committee, believes "it is extremely important to continue the tradition anyway that we can." The Social Traditions Committee has come up with several solutions to the problem; however, a compromise has not yet been reached at SA.

*snip*[/quote]Wouldn't you figure someone named "Blythe Winchester" would go to Harvard?[/quote]

Ethan Philpott has no idea what you're talking about.

[Karlmoose]

As a Hamilton graduate, I can tell you that the orange throwing tradition is completely different than others involving flying objects onto the ice. It happened as the first Hamilton goal of the game is scored, first of all (although at least once during my time there, no such goal occurred). Also, once the oranges were thrown, 90% of the students always left. (That is not an exaggeration. Of course, when less than 100 students show up in the first place, it becomes less of a big deal.) It's too bad because they're usually a competitive team (albeit D-3).
It's also too bad to see the tradition end, but I guess oranges are a bit more dangerous than things like Big Red gum.
OK, thanks for the trip down memory lane.

[billhoward]

[quote cth95]Colgate fans should take note of this article.  I am glad our tradition is of throwing fish BEFORE the game and not during it.  Let's hope all of our fans continue to respect that distinction.
[quote  From http://www.uscho.com/news/id,12134/TimeForThisTraditionToEnd.html ] The ridiculous tradition of throwing predefined objects onto the ice at symbolic moments of a college hockey game finally had a major impact in a key playoff contest last weekend. It is time to end this absurdity once and for all.[/quote][/quote]I read that first sentence a couple times and wondered: Does the scribe perhaps mean "previously chosen"?

[ugarte]

[quote Trotsky][quote WillR]The sight of hundreds of oranges arcing through air on the way to the ice was fantastic.[/quote]

One of the coolest things I ever saw was at Bright, of all places, when they coordinated the launching of hundreds... possibly thousands... of crimson tennis balls after their first goal in a game in the early 80's.[/quote]That must have been a sight. Six people carrying in HUNDREDS of tennis balls each.

[jtwcornell91]

[quote Karlmoose]Also, once the oranges were thrown, 90% of the students always left.[/quote]

Wow, so it's like a combination of the worst features of Union and RPI fans. ::rolleyes::

[The Rancor]

perhaps we should throw "nerf fish"::rolleyes::

[Give My Regards]

[quote Trotsky]Many suggestions have been put forward to SA; one suggestion is to turn the Buff and Blue game, traditionally a scrimmage between the Hamilton hockey players, into the Citrus Bowl. There would be a trophy at the end for the team that won and fans could throw oranges at the team which let in a goal first.[/quote]

Oh, that's much better... throw the objects at YOUR OWN team!

Katsuras and teammate Gabe tash '06 attended last Monday's SA meeting and said they did not like this idea because they did not want oranges thrown at them.

Good, the voice of reason.  Thankfully the players, at least, have functioning brain cells...

[Give My Regards]

[quote Trotsky]One of the coolest things I ever saw was at Bright, of all places, when they coordinated the launching of hundreds... possibly thousands... of crimson tennis balls after their first goal in a game in the early 80's.  The air was so thick with them you couldn't see the opposite side of the building.[/quote]

I don't know whether this was a one-time thing or not, although it probably was.  I do remember one occasion when a few Crimson fans took it upon themselves to add a full can of beer and a wine bottle to their tossing repertoire.  Oh wait, that was at the END of the game...

[WillR]

[quote fenwick][quote Trotsky]One of the coolest things I ever saw was at Bright, of all places, when they coordinated the launching of hundreds... possibly thousands... of crimson tennis balls after their first goal in a game in the early 80's.  The air was so thick with them you couldn't see the opposite side of the building.[/quote]

I don't know whether this was a one-time thing or not, although it probably was.  I do remember one occasion when a few Crimson fans took it upon themselves to add a full can of beer and a wine bottle to their tossing repertoire.  Oh wait, that was at the END of the game...[/quote]

A wine bottle?  In their mind they must have been thinking how this made them much classier than the fish throwing crowd.

I do wonder if they went with a white that would really compliment the fish.

-WillR