Origin of "Red!" during national anthem?

[Trotsky]

It started after I graduated (86 season) and before I started going to games as an alumnus (90 season).  I distinctly remember thinking, "that's new."

[ugarte]

My dad told me he did it in 1981

my suspicion is that it happened from time to time throughout cornell hockey history but i trust that if trotsky thought something was new after he graduated it wasn't a regular thing  while he was there and i wouldn't trust him with much

ftr i arrived on campus january 1990 and was told about the "tradition" by a frosh, so it had become part of the gestalt by then.

[Trotsky]

Yes, I am also assuming various people screamed Red! during the anthem, and one night the stars aligned and it stuck.

[hypotenuse]

An interesting project. As a 1973(!) graduate, I feel that like a game of telephone, or that Star Trek episode with the Coms and the Yangs, some of the cheers have become garbled over the decades. The one I miss most is the cheer after we score, which went ONE! WE WANT MORE, hopefully followed by ONE! TWO! WE WANT MORE,, etc. This was done slowly and deliberately, so the full impact of our scoring prowess could be absorbed by our adversary.
Over the last decade(?), the words are said,  but without any understanding why, IMHO.
As for RED, I always thought we stole it from someone else, maybe Colgate. It was not done during my era.

One funny anecdote. At the first game at MSG on Thanksgiving weekend, maybe 10 or so years ago. The Garden had some guy on hand to sing the Star Spangled Banner. No one had bothered to tell him about our little tradition, and so when he got to rockets red glare, and the place erupted with RED, he literally stopped for several beats while he tried to figure out WTF. A highlight of the evening.

[Will]

The one I miss most is the cheer after we score, which went ONE! WE WANT MORE, hopefully followed by ONE! TWO! WE WANT MORE,, etc. This was done slowly and deliberately, so the full impact of our scoring prowess could be absorbed by our adversary.
Over the last decade(?), the words are said,  but without any understanding why, IMHO.

The Lynah Faithful haven't done the slow post-goal count in at least a quarter century.  When I arrived in 1999, we were already doing the quick count, followed by "WE WANT MORE!", "SIEVE!" (x8), and "IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" (x4) all in rapid succession.

[Trotsky]

The one I miss most is the cheer after we score, which went ONE! WE WANT MORE, hopefully followed by ONE! TWO! WE WANT MORE,, etc. This was done slowly and deliberately, so the full impact of our scoring prowess could be absorbed by our adversary.
Over the last decade(?), the words are said,  but without any understanding why, IMHO.

The Lynah Faithful haven't done the slow post-goal count in at least a quarter century.  When I arrived in 1999, we were already doing the quick count, followed by "WE WANT MORE!", "SIEVE!" (x8), and "IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" (x4) all in rapid succession.

It was dying already when I was an undergrad (early 80s) as I recall upper classmen bemoaning the enshitifcation.

tldr: everything has been going to hell since 1648.  There are occasional bursts of resistance, but Ow My Balls is the future, until we strangle the last salesman with the entrails of the last advertiser.

[jtwcornell91]

One funny anecdote. At the first game at MSG on Thanksgiving weekend, maybe 10 or so years ago. The Garden had some guy on hand to sing the Star Spangled Banner. No one had bothered to tell him about our little tradition, and so when he got to rockets red glare, and the place erupted with RED, he literally stopped for several beats while he tried to figure out WTF. A highlight of the evening.

He's in good company.

[David Harding]

An interesting project. As a 1973(!) graduate, I feel that like a game of telephone, or that Star Trek episode with the Coms and the Yangs, some of the cheers have become garbled over the decades. The one I miss most is the cheer after we score, which went ONE! WE WANT MORE, hopefully followed by ONE! TWO! WE WANT MORE,, etc. This was done slowly and deliberately, so the full impact of our scoring prowess could be absorbed by our adversary.
Over the last decade(?), the words are said,  but without any understanding why, IMHO.
As for RED, I always thought we stole it from someone else, maybe Colgate. It was not done during my era.

One funny anecdote. At the first game at MSG on Thanksgiving weekend, maybe 10 or so years ago. The Garden had some guy on hand to sing the Star Spangled Banner. No one had bothered to tell him about our little tradition, and so when he got to rockets red glare, and the place erupted with RED, he literally stopped for several beats while he tried to figure out WTF. A highlight of the evening.

I remember that first MSG game well.  It was 2007.  They had a famous trumpeter from one of the late night TV shows play the national anthem standing on a carpet out on the ice. He almost dropped his horn when we screamed "RED".

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

An interesting project. As a 1973(!) graduate, I feel that like a game of telephone, or that Star Trek episode with the Coms and the Yangs, some of the cheers have become garbled over the decades. The one I miss most is the cheer after we score, which went ONE! WE WANT MORE, hopefully followed by ONE! TWO! WE WANT MORE,, etc. This was done slowly and deliberately, so the full impact of our scoring prowess could be absorbed by our adversary.
Over the last decade(?), the words are said,  but without any understanding why, IMHO.
As for RED, I always thought we stole it from someone else, maybe Colgate. It was not done during my era.

One funny anecdote. At the first game at MSG on Thanksgiving weekend, maybe 10 or so years ago. The Garden had some guy on hand to sing the Star Spangled Banner. No one had bothered to tell him about our little tradition, and so when he got to rockets red glare, and the place erupted with RED, he literally stopped for several beats while he tried to figure out WTF. A highlight of the evening.

I remember that first MSG game well.  It was 2007.  They had a famous trumpeter from one of the late night TV shows play the national anthem standing on a carpet out on the ice. He almost dropped his horn when we screamed "RED".

We've spooked quite a few singers at Lake Placid, too.

[Dafatone]

An interesting project. As a 1973(!) graduate, I feel that like a game of telephone, or that Star Trek episode with the Coms and the Yangs, some of the cheers have become garbled over the decades. The one I miss most is the cheer after we score, which went ONE! WE WANT MORE, hopefully followed by ONE! TWO! WE WANT MORE,, etc. This was done slowly and deliberately, so the full impact of our scoring prowess could be absorbed by our adversary.
Over the last decade(?), the words are said,  but without any understanding why, IMHO.
As for RED, I always thought we stole it from someone else, maybe Colgate. It was not done during my era.

One funny anecdote. At the first game at MSG on Thanksgiving weekend, maybe 10 or so years ago. The Garden had some guy on hand to sing the Star Spangled Banner. No one had bothered to tell him about our little tradition, and so when he got to rockets red glare, and the place erupted with RED, he literally stopped for several beats while he tried to figure out WTF. A highlight of the evening.

I remember that first MSG game well.  It was 2007.  They had a famous trumpeter from one of the late night TV shows play the national anthem standing on a carpet out on the ice. He almost dropped his horn when we screamed "RED".

We've spooked quite a few singers at Lake Placid, too.

Nebraskans did not appreciate it at UNO in 2012 or so.

[Trotsky]

An interesting project. As a 1973(!) graduate, I feel that like a game of telephone, or that Star Trek episode with the Coms and the Yangs, some of the cheers have become garbled over the decades. The one I miss most is the cheer after we score, which went ONE! WE WANT MORE, hopefully followed by ONE! TWO! WE WANT MORE,, etc. This was done slowly and deliberately, so the full impact of our scoring prowess could be absorbed by our adversary.
Over the last decade(?), the words are said,  but without any understanding why, IMHO.
As for RED, I always thought we stole it from someone else, maybe Colgate. It was not done during my era.

One funny anecdote. At the first game at MSG on Thanksgiving weekend, maybe 10 or so years ago. The Garden had some guy on hand to sing the Star Spangled Banner. No one had bothered to tell him about our little tradition, and so when he got to rockets red glare, and the place erupted with RED, he literally stopped for several beats while he tried to figure out WTF. A highlight of the evening.

I remember that first MSG game well.  It was 2007.  They had a famous trumpeter from one of the late night TV shows play the national anthem standing on a carpet out on the ice. He almost dropped his horn when we screamed "RED".

We've spooked quite a few singers at Lake Placid, too.

Nebraskans did not appreciate it at UNO in 2012 or so.

The common clay of the New West.

[ugarte]

An interesting project. As a 1973(!) graduate, I feel that like a game of telephone, or that Star Trek episode with the Coms and the Yangs, some of the cheers have become garbled over the decades. The one I miss most is the cheer after we score, which went ONE! WE WANT MORE, hopefully followed by ONE! TWO! WE WANT MORE,, etc. This was done slowly and deliberately, so the full impact of our scoring prowess could be absorbed by our adversary.
Over the last decade(?), the words are said,  but without any understanding why, IMHO.
As for RED, I always thought we stole it from someone else, maybe Colgate. It was not done during my era.

One funny anecdote. At the first game at MSG on Thanksgiving weekend, maybe 10 or so years ago. The Garden had some guy on hand to sing the Star Spangled Banner. No one had bothered to tell him about our little tradition, and so when he got to rockets red glare, and the place erupted with RED, he literally stopped for several beats while he tried to figure out WTF. A highlight of the evening.

I remember that first MSG game well.  It was 2007.  They had a famous trumpeter from one of the late night TV shows play the national anthem standing on a carpet out on the ice. He almost dropped his horn when we screamed "RED".

We've spooked quite a few singers at Lake Placid, too.

Nebraskans did not appreciate it at UNO in 2012 or so.

A BC fan seemed ready to take a swing at me in Providence before the Mankato game.

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

An interesting project. As a 1973(!) graduate, I feel that like a game of telephone, or that Star Trek episode with the Coms and the Yangs, some of the cheers have become garbled over the decades. The one I miss most is the cheer after we score, which went ONE! WE WANT MORE, hopefully followed by ONE! TWO! WE WANT MORE,, etc. This was done slowly and deliberately, so the full impact of our scoring prowess could be absorbed by our adversary.
Over the last decade(?), the words are said,  but without any understanding why, IMHO.
As for RED, I always thought we stole it from someone else, maybe Colgate. It was not done during my era.

One funny anecdote. At the first game at MSG on Thanksgiving weekend, maybe 10 or so years ago. The Garden had some guy on hand to sing the Star Spangled Banner. No one had bothered to tell him about our little tradition, and so when he got to rockets red glare, and the place erupted with RED, he literally stopped for several beats while he tried to figure out WTF. A highlight of the evening.

I remember that first MSG game well.  It was 2007.  They had a famous trumpeter from one of the late night TV shows play the national anthem standing on a carpet out on the ice. He almost dropped his horn when we screamed "RED".

We've spooked quite a few singers at Lake Placid, too.

Nebraskans did not appreciate it at UNO in 2012 or so.

The common clay of the New West.

Indeed.

[adamw]

An interesting project. As a 1973(!) graduate, I feel that like a game of telephone, or that Star Trek episode with the Coms and the Yangs, some of the cheers have become garbled over the decades. The one I miss most is the cheer after we score, which went ONE! WE WANT MORE, hopefully followed by ONE! TWO! WE WANT MORE,, etc. This was done slowly and deliberately, so the full impact of our scoring prowess could be absorbed by our adversary.
Over the last decade(?), the words are said,  but without any understanding why, IMHO.
As for RED, I always thought we stole it from someone else, maybe Colgate. It was not done during my era.

One funny anecdote. At the first game at MSG on Thanksgiving weekend, maybe 10 or so years ago. The Garden had some guy on hand to sing the Star Spangled Banner. No one had bothered to tell him about our little tradition, and so when he got to rockets red glare, and the place erupted with RED, he literally stopped for several beats while he tried to figure out WTF. A highlight of the evening.

I was an Ithaca freshman during the 1988-89 season - my first game at Lynah as a reporter would've been November 1988 or maybe January 1989. Back then, there was no press box - just a press row of seats, about 3 rows off the glass. The crowd was definitely doing the "Red" thing then - because I distinctly remember nearly having a heart attack when it happened.  I was totally unprepared.

[ACM]

An interesting project. As a 1973(!) graduate, I feel that like a game of telephone, or that Star Trek episode with the Coms and the Yangs, some of the cheers have become garbled over the decades. The one I miss most is the cheer after we score, which went ONE! WE WANT MORE, hopefully followed by ONE! TWO! WE WANT MORE,, etc. This was done slowly and deliberately, so the full impact of our scoring prowess could be absorbed by our adversary.
Over the last decade(?), the words are said,  but without any understanding why, IMHO.
As for RED, I always thought we stole it from someone else, maybe Colgate. It was not done during my era.

One funny anecdote. At the first game at MSG on Thanksgiving weekend, maybe 10 or so years ago. The Garden had some guy on hand to sing the Star Spangled Banner. No one had bothered to tell him about our little tradition, and so when he got to rockets red glare, and the place erupted with RED, he literally stopped for several beats while he tried to figure out WTF. A highlight of the evening.

I was an Ithaca freshman during the 1988-89 season - my first game at Lynah as a reporter would've been November 1988 or maybe January 1989. Back then, there was no press box - just a press row of seats, about 3 rows off the glass. The crowd was definitely doing the "Red" thing then - because I distinctly remember nearly having a heart attack when it happened.  I was totally unprepared.

There was a pressbox at Lynah, at the top of section C, but it was very small, only had room for WHCU, the visiting radio, the SID, and the Ithaca Journal reporter. All others with media credentials sat, as Adam described, in a row behind the timekeeper and announcer, who were directly behind the single penalty bench.