your suggestions

[melissaa]

OK. So, after exchanging e-mails with the coach on this year's line fiasco, I've been asked to compose a formal letter stating what was wrong with this year's procedure and make suggestions on how to fix it. Since I wasn't there I am hoping you all can help me out by providing me with details on what else (aside from what has already been mentioned in the other line thread) was problematic and perhaps giving me your best idea on how to remedy the situation for years to come. Any imput would be appreciated. As a now calmed down third party I am hoping that I can write it from a less emotional standpoint than those who followed procedure and are still upset about missing out.

Can anyone fill me in on the timeline for waiting, etc? How much time did people actually have to spend in line? From what I gather it wasn't nearly as much as in years past. Am I right?

[some guy]

hey
i was there for a while, i was already talking to gene (the ticket guy in charge) about setting up a cornell club or something run by the students in order to come up with a fair way for students to recieve tickets for next year.  He thought it was a good idea.  I agree that it was probably unfair that people like me and my friends that camped out got better seats while the people who shoed up on time got nothing.  But i must also mention that last years crowd sucked and it is always more fun when people are loud  and most of the people who remember the good old days of 600 pounds of fish on the ice don't want those fans that will obey all the rules.  Most people should have realized it was not going to stick and should have taken a chance, the same chance you take when bringing in a lobster or fish for the harvard game, or like when you find out #24's little sisters name from RPI just so you can scream out that you had sex with her all of the previous night.  Yes, those are the fans that we want. we were once rated the worst place to play as an away team anywaywhere, at any lvel, in any sport.  So who should be rewarded the people who listen to everything they are told, or the real fans that are not willing to take the chance.  And there is no way that anyone going to these games should not know all the cheers or ask anyone what the name of our players are.  And that means all freshman, except if they were a townie that wore a vesse jersey all weekend, he can stay.  so stop complaining about how you followed the rules.  You should have thought how it would never work for 2000 people to form a line and realize it was going to happen earlier.  Maybe it will change next year, maybe it won't, but are you going to take a chance.  and why the hell do all these damn people want tickets anyway, it is not supposed to be lame.  we need the old school, hardcore, 20 lb fish throwing, hardvard goaly taunting, in your face, extremely drunk, crazy fans we used to have that made cornell hockey above all hockey.  

NOTE: this is in no way direted towards you mellissa, i think you made some good points, but the fans can't be as lame as they were last year, it was pathetic.

[A-19]

check your email melissa

[DeltaOne81]

Melissa,

I think this is the heart of the issue.

The system as it is does not reward the most dedicated fans. When someone gets pushed back from 200 to 450 by cutters, over half of the top numbers go to cutters, not dedicated fans. When 1 person holds a spot for 30, those numbers go to cheaters, not designated fans.

When people jump on eLF two days later and offer to sell their tickets for a profit, those numbers are going to 'scalpers', not dedicated fans.

I think you know I'm as dedicated as anyone... LP, Albany, Buffalo, will be at Boston this year, rain or shine, North Country in the middle of a snowstorm with an 8-hour drive, etc. Why didn't I get tickets? Not because I wasn't willing to camp out, but because I believed the rules and follow them.

The issue is that the current system gives tickets to rulebreakers and to cutters, and those are not the people who are the target audience - at least I should hope not. Now, yes, it goes to the most dedicated rulebreakers and cutters, but I hardly see that as a virtue.

If you'd like me to add more, I'll be glad to once I get over this project that's due Wed :-).

[Keith K \'93]

General admission for all students.

Had to be said.

[Bjammin 03]

. . .and open the door after the end of the 1st to fill any empty seats as was the case before I was born (or so I'm told). . .:-P



Post Edited (09-15-03 19:24)

[Will]

^ I definitely like that idea, particularly since in the 2nd period, the opposing goalie comes down to the E-K end, where it is more likely for less students to be in attendance.  That's when we'll need those seats filled the most.

[jeh25]

Keith K '93 wrote:

General admission for all students.

Had to be said.

Ok, so I told Age this today via IM and he thought I was on crack. But here is my idea.

1) Sell 1500 student ticket vouchers at the the beginning of the season.

2) Every wednesday at 8am, make tickets for that week's games available for pickup at the Straight. One voucher gets one seat. First come first serve with regard to seat and section selection.  One person can only use 4 vouchers.

3) At 3pm on Friday, any remaining tickets go on sale to the general public. Unclaimed tickets do not qualify for a refund.

I have sneaking suspicion that things would be crazy the first couple weeks and then settle down. Once word gets out that Jim down the hall didn't get to the Straight until 1 on Thursday  and still got tickets in E, the crowds will thin out first thing Wed AM, leaving only the hardcore fans.

Pros
Diehard fans that get to the Straight at 7:45a every Wed. morning are rewarded for their dedication by choice of the best seats.
Requiring effort to claim tickets earlier in the week helps creates buzz about that weekend's games.
Lynah is packed for every game as regulars that have a conflict won't see their tickets go unused.
Less rabid fans still get to enjoy the Lynah experience, albeit only for some of the less popular games.
Out of town fans have a better shot at getting tickets without getting scalped.
Attendence at 8:30 sections on Wednesday increase as people are up anyway. :-P

Cons
Being a diehard fan requires constant effort throughout the season, not just in Sept.
People with 8a lecture on Wednesday will never get the best seats.
You may not end up in exactly the same seat every week, although getting up early on Wed. may help with this.
Frats may abuse their pledge classes by making pledges claim tickets every Wednesday AM.

Thoughts?



Post Edited (09-15-03 21:10)

[dsr11]

Suggestion 1:
To prevent against cutting, set up some of that bright orange snow fencing along the line.  Can't really hop over that easily.  Put an opening in it every couple hundred feet so people inside can get out for bathroom breaks, but station an official at these breaks so people can't get in unless they were already in line.  Collect ID cards if people leave the line, and return them when they get back.

But I think the orange snow fencing is the way to go for that.

Suggestion 2:
Forget season tickets altogether.  Duke bball only allows tenting 2 games per year, the rest are done through wristbands.  Give out blocks of wristbands Friday morning starting at 8 AM, or if you don't want to interfere with classes, Thursday at 4:45.  Or any other day and time.  Allow people into lynah based on wristband color.  If you only have a couple hundred of each color, you can allow a controled general admission environment, ie, there is no mad rush when 1500 people try to go for section B.  Again, this would be crazy for the first couple games, but it would settle down, and I think the only big campout would occur for Hahvahd.  But this way, everyone in the CU community has an opportunity to get at least one game.

[Will]

Interesting system, John.  My comments:

Attendence at 8:30 sections on Wednesday increase as people are up anyway. :-P

That made me seriously laugh out loud. ;-)

People with 8a lecture on Wednesday will never get the best seats.

Oh yeah, like people really go to their 8AM lectures anyway.  Okay, I guess some of us do.  I did my freshman year...stupid writing seminar...

You may not end up in exactly the same seat every week, although getting up early on Wed. may help with this.

Personally, I like the idea of a seat that is 'mine' (or, when I'm with my friends, a section that is 'ours'), but this proposal definitely gives the hardcore fans a better deal, that is, if they stay hardcore all the way to February/March.

Frats may abuse their pledge classes by making pledges claim tickets every Wednesday AM.

Indeed, this can be a problem, but that's what pledges are for, right?  I'd be more worried about linecutting by people (fratboys/pledges?) at this point, actually.  And it'd be done weekly, too, instead of just once in September like a few days ago.



Post Edited (09-15-03 22:00)

[Bjammin 03]

Melissa, I hope you're getting all of this :-P



Post Edited (09-15-03 22:26)

[A-19]

john,
a brilliant idea, though i don't like it.
there is something to be said for continuity throughout a season, as each section develops its own traditions, taunts, and feeling of community among the faithful. the point of massive coordination at the beginning of the year is to organize yourself with your group of friends. that's why we obsessed over the line-- so that we ended up with a 50 person block in A, at line number 38 etc. you'd never get that if you had to organize it every week.

i like the orange snow fencing and the guards/id check.

mike, 04

[Ben Rocky \'04]

to be honest, thats a terrible idea.
lynah seats are not meant to be egalitarian.  If you don't wanna spend the time for them, you do not deserve them.  It is the duty of all the lynah faithful to bring friends so that new people may experiance a game, but the most devoted should get the seats first and for the entire season.  visiting teams should be afraid of those in the stands, and this only happens when serious fans know how to really swear and sing 'far above cayuga's waters'.

also, if i ordered a bunch of shirts that had "lynah faithful" and crossed hockey sticks on the front & "go back to long island, facetimer" on the back, would people be interested in them?

-ben rocky

[Greg Berge]

Status quo ante 1983.  Ever since, it's been a slide straight to crazytown.

[calgARI \'07]

I think the line should start whenever the first people get there.  If there are people willing to wait out a few days, then so be it.  If they are willing to wait that long, they deserve to have first shot at tickets.  I was confused as to how 3000 people were just going to casually get on line all at the same time.  It is better to have just an open start, that way people's arrivals will be staggered.  Again, no official line start.  Just start lining up whenever you want.