Article on Top 10 Lynah Faithful Traditions

[ScrewBUHarvardtoo]

Hey guys,

Here is an article I just wrote for the Big Red Sports Network about the Top 10 Lynah Faithful Traditions. Have a read, and feel free to let me know if you think I missed something, or if something is too high/low. Even though I am still an undergrad, being both a season ticket holder and member of the pep band, I have been to almost every home and away game in recent years. But being that many of you have been Cornell hockey fans for over a decade, I would love some feedback. In the upcoming days, there will articles that have the Top 10 Lynah Faithful Cheers, and an article detailing the history of Cornell hockey and its fan base

http://bigredsportsnetwork.tumblr.com/post/64369913594/top-10-lynah-faithful-traditions

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

One that I always liked is that immegiately after the opposition scores a goal, the pep band starts a "Let's Go Red!" cheer.  if we're going down, we won't do it gently.

[Robb]

In my opinion, toothpaste against Colgate doesn't belong on the list, much less at #5.  I'd replace it with "never booing our own team."  At least, I hope that's still the case - it's been waaaaay too long since I've been to a home game.  I'd also put "Which team is the winning team?" in lieu of "Warm up the bus."

[ursusminor]

I am not a Cornell fan, so my opinion shouldn't count, but I am surprised that you didn't include the one associated with your handle. It makes more sense to me than several which aren't unique to Cornell. E.g., Cornell isn't the only school whose fans shout "Red" during the anthem or similar shouts for other schools.

[marty]

I am not a Cornell fan, so my opinion shouldn't count, but I am surprised that you didn't include the one associated with your handle. It makes more sense to me than several which aren't unique to Cornell. E.g., Cornell isn't the only school whose fans shout "Red" during the anthem or similar shouts for other schools.

Ahem, copycats in Troy.

[Weder]

Not playing recorded music. The promotional announcements are relatively limited, too. Though I suppose those aren't really Lynah Faithful traditions but rink management decisions.

[Trotsky]

Not playing recorded music.

This is HUGE.  Nothing destroys the fan experience more than piped-in music.  Nor is Tradition a sure fire defense against it: Notre Dame football just succumbed after a hard fight against it, and I can imagine some moron fresh out of business school thinking it was just the thing to make Lynah more enticing to the vampire squid of advertisers.

[RichH]

In my opinion, toothpaste against Colgate doesn't belong on the list, much less at #5.  I'd replace it with "never booing our own team."  At least, I hope that's still the case - it's been waaaaay too long since I've been to a home game.  I'd also put "Which team is the winning team?" in lieu of "Warm up the bus."

Yeah, the toothpaste thing is relatively new, and pretty much a response to the Colgate fans' gum thing, which has gone on longer.

As far as "Which Team..." goes, that used to be an honored role. From what I once learned, the leader of the cheer was always the person who got the number 1 line number, back when there was a real, organically formed hockey line, and not a raffle, athletics-organized sleep-over, or online sign-up.  That one person would dangle from the old, tall, and seamed-and-sturdy glass and lead the cheer over Section B. I happened to be the "Which Team" guy my senior year for the Schafer reawakening season, and got recognized the rest of the school year by many sleep-deprived and drunk students.  Now, it seems that there's no one "leader" anymore, and it's only done after the final buzzer (I got yelled at for trying to start it with a 3 goal lead at UNH with 30 seconds left). I came up with the "N-1" rule for that cheer, which has since been transferred to the keys.

Through the early part of the '90s, the cowbell cheer was performed by the percussion section of the band, and had beome "just another cheer." It wasn't until Age came along (I think) when it was rightfully returned to Section B.

Anyway, the above is moot, since Andrew seems to be listing "traditions" here, and a future "Buzzfeed: Lynah Edition" listicle will list "cheers." Also, this seems to capture the current status of Lynah fairly well.  Traditions/cheers evolve and decay as years and classes pass, and this is a good snapshot of 2013.

[RichH]

Not playing recorded music.

This is HUGE.  Nothing destroys the fan experience more than piped-in music.  Nor is Tradition a sure fire defense against it: Notre Dame football just succumbed after a hard fight against it, and I can imagine some moron fresh out of business school thinking it was just the thing to make Lynah more enticing to the vampire squid of advertisers.

Some fellow Marching Band Alumni and I were upset when the new video scoreboard was introduced at Schoellkopf. They basically told the band they can't play during breaks anymore because they had to pipe-in music or do some lame "find the ball under one of the three helmets" thing, because now we're all conditioned to turn our heads and watch Television between plays.  If Schoellkopf had any real crowd atmosphere worth defending, it might have been worth getting more people involved.  If they try to pull that at Lynah, I feel more confident there would be more of an outrage.  I think they have toned it down a little bit, and have given the Marching Band a little bit more leeway to do their thing in the stands, but...argh.

Just about every visiting arena the Pep Band travels to now has some intern spinning "OMG JOCK JAMZ!!!1!" in between the two bands for some reason. It NEVER gets any reaction from the crowd (except at Quinnipiac, but...well, you know) and completely spoils the college atmosphere.

[Weder]

Not playing recorded music.

This is HUGE.  Nothing destroys the fan experience more than piped-in music.  Nor is Tradition a sure fire defense against it: Notre Dame football just succumbed after a hard fight against it, and I can imagine some moron fresh out of business school thinking it was just the thing to make Lynah more enticing to the vampire squid of advertisers.

Some fellow Marching Band Alumni and I were upset when the new video scoreboard was introduced at Schoellkopf. They basically told the band they can't play during breaks anymore because they had to pipe-in music or do some lame "find the ball under one of the three helmets" thing, because now we're all conditioned to turn our heads and watch Television between plays.  If Schoellkopf had any real crowd atmosphere worth defending, it might have been worth getting more people involved.  If they try to pull that at Lynah, I feel more confident there would be more of an outrage.  I think they have toned it down a little bit, and have given the Marching Band a little bit more leeway to do their thing in the stands, but...argh.

Just about every visiting arena the Pep Band travels to now has some intern spinning "OMG JOCK JAMZ!!!1!" in between the two bands for some reason. It NEVER gets any reaction from the crowd (except at Quinnipiac, but...well, you know) and completely spoils the college atmosphere.

It's a real bummer that they DO feel the need to fill every break during the women's games at Lynah with music, even though the band now attends most (all?) of those games.

[Chris '03]

I came up with the "N-1" rule for that cheer, which has since been transferred to the keys.

"n-1!!!" I think I did "which team" with about 6:45 left in this game. The team went 5/7 on the pp that night... that was the weekend janet reno and gary bettman both came to lynah.

That year, the team won every home game by at least 3 until senior weekend if I'm remembering correctly. I think "which team" only happened once or twice during the handshakes (at home) as a result.

Also, they freaked out about hanging off the seamless glass.  I don't know how many folks after me still got up there anyway.

[Jim Hyla]

Not playing recorded music.

This is HUGE.  Nothing destroys the fan experience more than piped-in music.  Nor is Tradition a sure fire defense against it: Notre Dame football just succumbed after a hard fight against it, and I can imagine some moron fresh out of business school thinking it was just the thing to make Lynah more enticing to the vampire squid of advertisers.

Yes, every time I hear that music, I think of being in a minor league hockey rink. The other thing that is similar is having an announcer, thanks Arthur, that just tells the goal or penalty, without the corresponding minor league, home rink, obnoxious accentuation. I like the, "there, we did it, and we don't need to emphasize it" approach.

[Al DeFlorio]

Not playing recorded music.

This is HUGE.  Nothing destroys the fan experience more than piped-in music.  Nor is Tradition a sure fire defense against it: Notre Dame football just succumbed after a hard fight against it, and I can imagine some moron fresh out of business school thinking it was just the thing to make Lynah more enticing to the vampire squid of advertisers.

Yes, every time I hear that music, I think of being in a minor league hockey rink. The other thing that is similar is having an announcer, thanks Arthur, that just tells the goal or penalty, without the corresponding minor league, home rink, obnoxious accentuation. I like the, "there, we did it, and we don't need to emphasize it" approach.

Amen.  And none of this "YOUR Brown Bears!!!" nonsense.  The Bob Sheppard approach is still the best.

[Trotsky]

Yes, every time I hear that music, I think of being in a minor league hockey rink. The other thing that is similar is having an announcer, thanks Arthur, that just tells the goal or penalty, without the corresponding minor league, home rink, obnoxious accentuation. I like the, "there, we did it, and we don't need to emphasize it" approach.

Another depressing example of the impoverishment of atmosphere was what happened when the MLB teams qualified for the WS this past week.  Seconds after the game was won the speakers blared one of the trite anthems that marks those events in every corporate veal fattening pen stadium -- Celebration or We Are the Champions or whatever. All that does is remove anything peculiarly special from what you just saw happen on the field and drown it in the mindless, generic branding of the consumer mob.

People under 30 probably do not know the spontaneous enjoyment of moments like this for their own sake, having lived with the deadening, Harrison Bergeron-like soundtrack of public space all their lives.  And maybe not having had it they don't miss it and would be uncomfortable without it.  But it is one of the worst legacies of the kidney stone that was the 20th century.

[ursusminor]

I am not a Cornell fan, so my opinion shouldn't count, but I am surprised that you didn't include the one associated with your handle. It makes more sense to me than several which aren't unique to Cornell. E.g., Cornell isn't the only school whose fans shout "Red" during the anthem or similar shouts for other schools.

Ahem, copycats in Troy.

I have no idea which school did that first, but I will throw this in:

From the Cornell Alumni Magazine Vol 104 No. 4 describing why Cornell's uniforms are bright red
Some give credit to legendary hockey and lacrosse coach Ned Harkness, who came to the Hill in 1963. He changed the color of the hockey uniforms to bright red (perhaps because that was what he was accustomed to, after eighteen years at RPI); other Cornell sports teams followed suit.

:-D