Important message to ice hockey ticket holders

JDeafv · January 22, 2009, 09:27:14 PM

F.U. Andy, clap, clap, clap-clap-clap
F.U. Andy, clap, clap, clap-clap-clap
F.U. Andy, clap, clap, clap-clap-clap

cth95 · January 22, 2009, 10:56:06 PM

[quote fatchance72]
But you're missing the point, cth95. My point was that athletics holds significant power over the band, whether we care to admit it or not. In this situation, athletics is choosing to use the band as a tool to help cut down on profanity at Lynah. What athletics doesn't realize is that the majority of the potty-mouthed students at the games are going to curse regardless of whether the band plays Gary Glitter.
[/quote]

I don't think that I am missing your point. I definitely think athletics has been too strict at times, and I don't like the band being used to control student behavior. The fans have been warned to clean up the language numerous times over many years, however. Since that hasn't worked, I imagine athletics is just trying a new tactic.

I realize that the band is controlled by athletics. People can disagree with the individuals running athletics and therefore the specifics of the rules placed on the band, but the band does represent the university and they are supported by athletics, so I do not have a problem in principle with the band holding some accountability to the department.

My main point is that I don't understand why so many people get upset when they are not allowed to yell profanities in a public setting. I think this simply is selfish, childish, and lacks originality. Profanity is not at all necessary to energetically support our team. If everyone would simply leave out the F-Bombs and the A**holes, athletics would probably leave us alone and we wouldn't have to constantly argue and whine about it.

From what I heard on TV Tuesday, it didn't sound like anyone had trouble expressing their enthusiasm for Obama without swearing.

mnagowski · January 22, 2009, 11:14:19 PM

QuoteI can't believe we are going over this again. What, does it happen every year?

While us alums stay the same, new kids come to campus every year. The institutional memory of a college campus is a pretty fragile thing.

That said, if you really can't figure out a creative way to antagonize the opposing team without resorting to vulgar language, I really have to wonder about the quality of the students that Cornell is accepting these days.

nyc94 · January 22, 2009, 11:16:45 PM

[quote cth95]From what I heard on TV Tuesday, it didn't sound like anyone had trouble expressing their enthusiasm for Obama without swearing.[/quote]

Sounded like Bush was receiving the verbal treatment and hand gestures we reserve for our favorite opponents. Not sure your analogy is spot on. ;-)

BMac · January 22, 2009, 11:42:48 PM

Wow, people are really worked up over this. If AD does this, the faithful will just sing it (without swearing) a capella. It's more fun anyways. And then start a fire Andy chant.

Wish I could be there to start it.

No, we don't need to swear. I don't, and I haven't heard many people more vocal than me in Lynah over the last 2-odd years (though many have been more clever). If athletics is going to suck about this, maybe we should turn our wrath from the opponent to them for a game- let's see how they like my mindless, uncreative droning when it's about them.

It's a mindset- they think we're ruffians and that they can and should control the student section. Given what I've seen personally seen for the last several years and learned on this forum for years back, they have certainly been able to. They've sucked the life out of the fans through a random ticket policy that doesn't reward commitment- and it all starts with commitment. It would be nice to get a concentrated rebuttal of that mentality; otherwise, they will continue to use the fact that institutional memory is transitory and they are there permanently to slowly shape the student section to their ideal.

French Rage · January 22, 2009, 11:51:26 PM

[quote BMac]Wow, people are really worked up over this. If AD does this, the faithful will just sing it a capella. It's more fun anyways. And then start a fire Andy chant.

Wish I could be there to start it.[/quote]

My thoughts exactly. And "Go Rough Yourself" would be a good sign idea.

cth95 · January 23, 2009, 07:03:37 AM

[quote nyc94][quote cth95]From what I heard on TV Tuesday, it didn't sound like anyone had trouble expressing their enthusiasm for Obama without swearing.[/quote]

Sounded like Bush was receiving the verbal treatment and hand gestures we reserve for our favorite opponents. Not sure your analogy is spot on. ;-)[/quote]

You are probably right. I didn't hear any profanity, but I did see some pretty poor responses. At least our fans are only antagonizing opposing hockey players. No matter what you think about someone's policies, I thought that was really classless to boo and jeer an outgoing President, but that's a totally different topic.

Jeff Hopkins '82 · January 23, 2009, 08:09:22 AM

My thougts on this remain the same: 1) you don't need profanity to indimiate the opposition. 2) The AD's office sucks 3) The way some ushers treat the students is appalling.

I have two suggestions:

- Someone needs to ask the AD's office for a list of words which are considered banned, and those which are considered safe. As people noted, sucks and screw are borderline, and I think the students would seriously like to know where they stand before risking ejection by an overzealous usher.

- It would be interesting to substitute the word "profanity" for every curse word used in the cheers. For example, try "Aaaaah, see you, profanity! You goon!" as a method of protest.

Again, my issue is not with the profanity, it's with the behavior of the AD's office.

billhoward · January 23, 2009, 08:31:01 AM

What does the athletics department think will be the response when it threatens the pep band and fans to be good little boys and girls or else? Talk about counter-productive.

Can't all-too-free-speech proponents recognize that some other fans - townies perhaps, families with children, older fans - may not like swearing in public? Either because they don't like it, or because they find it's sophomoric? This is well put:

[quote mnagowski]... if you really can't figure out a creative way to antagonize the opposing team without resorting to vulgar language, I really have to wonder about the quality of the students that Cornell is accepting these days.[/quote]

The most powerful thing about the Cornell advantage is the mostly packed house at home and the hundreds of fans in red who show up at road games. It's disconcerting for Princeton or Yale to have the visiting fans controlling the atmosphere. It's wondrous that Fair Harvard would rather have empty seats than visiting Cornellians in those seats.

upperdeck · January 23, 2009, 09:29:19 AM

people think its the students doing all the swearing? sitting in the other side of the rink i dont here much coming from the student side but there is sure alot coming from the townie side.

swearing is accepted in society much more today. that doesnt make it right or wrong. but to worry about the effect on people for 1-2 cheers a game is a little over the edge.

there is much worse being said every time ref blows a call then is said when the band plays..

Willy '06 · January 23, 2009, 11:12:33 AM

I've got it!

They should install a button that makes a really loud bleeping sound that drowns out the swears. Andy Noel, Gene Nighman, Matt Coates, whoever... can sit by the button and press it whenever there is any swearing anticipated

That's how they do it on TV.

I think that the reason that the students don't want to give up swearing is because of the lack of consistency and the underhanded tactics that the Athletic Department uses to try to control student behavior. 18-22 year olds don't respond well to that. Maybe if they'd treat the students like adults, the students would respond better (and maybe not).

Instead of a sign saying that you'll be thrown out if you swear, how about a sign with a picture of a 6 year old kid that says:

"This is Billy's first hockey game. He's going to be a Big Red fan for life, but his parents won't bring him to any more games if he keeps learning bad words at the games and repeating them in school. Do you want Billy to be deprived of Big Red Hockey?"

Maybe it's stupid, but I think guilt will go a lot farther than intimidation.

sms257 · January 23, 2009, 11:21:21 AM

The guilt thing sure works on me, I never use the profane versions of the cheers, but at the football games where I always seem to be surrounded with little kids I have a lot of trouble saying even sucks or hell, it just feels wrong.

nshapiro · January 23, 2009, 12:00:43 PM

Individually, I believe that almost everyone would do the right thing. When I had my young kids with me at a Princeton game a few years ago, I asked the students around us to say "rough" - they did, and did it so loudly, that there was no chance for my kids to hear what the rest of the section was saying.

I think if you just put young kids in the aisles of the student section, the problem would be solved by itself.

Trotsky · January 23, 2009, 12:51:48 PM

We do this thread every year.

The solution is for the rest of the crowd to boo the 1-in-100 idiots and clubhouse lawyers who insist that dropping the F bomb is their Constitutional right until they shut up. Shaming is a lost art.

Trotsky · January 23, 2009, 12:53:33 PM

[quote KeithK]That's actually pretty uncommon at college hockey games. I can't remember the last time players dropped the gloves at Lynah.[/quote]"Leeor, cleanup on aisle 6."