Lynah Attendance

[pjd8]

If I were given the university reins of the Lynah experience, I would rip everything top-down out.  No piped in music.  No images on scoreboards.  No "content" of any kind.  Burn the field.  Force the students and the band to fill the space.  The band would dominate the space between whistles.  They are great however, as we know from their endless masturbatorial Jeopardy drone, the band only cares about the band.  That leaves the time during play, when the students need to shine.  That is when old cheers are lovingly recapitulated.  It's when the Darwinian combat to launch new cheers is fought.

Yes, we as a society are terrified of "being bored". Yet that is where the greatest creativity comes from.

The band does care mostly about the band. I think there's room to sync better with the crowd, but given that the conductor position has the potential to turn over every semester, it's unlikely that better synergy will ever develop.

And it can be worse for a band that has a staff director. It can lend stability and opportunity for a longer learning curve, but there's often little room for spontaneity that comes from student energy, and that's where the magic is.

Crowds respond better to live bands. Universities know this. Some colleges give band members stipends. Cornell loves having the marching band/pep band play at non-sporting events. Why schools then won't get out of the band's way is beyond me.

[Trotsky]

Our band is great at what they do.  You gotta set the tone and coming into the building with the band playing is thrilling.  Davey after a goal is joyous.  The Dragnet theme for an opp penalty is essentially another crowd cheer.

I love the band, but they are an igniter.  The real fuel is the crowd itself.  That is where the fire either starts or doesn't.  We've all been to enough games that we can feel the difference, and generations of players have said they can too.  When that fire is truly burning, it helps the team.  When the team is playing well it builds the fire.  It is a wonderful symbiosis.

There is a reason every opponent loves to come into Lynah, and why generations of star opposing athletes have said they felt most spectacular when competing against the Lynah crowd because to be the best you have to beat the best.

Coming into the building only a few times a decade, now, it still always feels like going to my church with my congregation.  Lynah is sacred and hellfire consume anyone who harms it either through deliberate action or ineptitude.

[stereax]

It would be helpful to know, of the ~4,300 seats at Lynah:
How many are townies
How many are students
Of these townie/student subgroups, how many are season ticket holders

Pretty sure A through E are student only sections, and sell student only season tickets at the beginning of the year. I believe ABC are assigned seats, DEF are general admission?

I know students who like to catch games from O (seriously?), I know of many others who buy tickets in FGHJ and just clamber over to C.

As per the bigredtix site, B and C are entirely sold out. I truly doubt that's the case for C, or, if so, a bunch of STMs are not showing up. Either is likely tbh.

So my guess is probably like...
2500 townies
1800 students
Probably like 800 student STM? Mostly in B and some spots in A and C. Idk if anyone is buying season tickets for E.
Townies probably more around 1500 or so. Feels like there are a LOT of townie STMs.

[Trotsky]

Yes, we as a society are terrified of "being bored". Yet that is where the greatest creativity comes from.

Harvard sucks and Business School is Clown College, but:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orQKfIXMiA8

[pjd8]

Yes, we as a society are terrified of "being bored". Yet that is where the greatest creativity comes from.

Harvard sucks and Business School is Clown College, but:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orQKfIXMiA8

The exact video I was thinking of, though it was a lesson life had already taught me.

[ursusminor]

It would be helpful to know, of the ~4,300 seats at Lynah:
How many are townies
How many are students
Of these townie/student subgroups, how many are season ticket holders

Pretty sure A through E are student only sections, and sell student only season tickets at the beginning of the year. I believe ABC are assigned seats, DEF are general admission?

I know students who like to catch games from O (seriously?), I know of many others who buy tickets in FGHJ and just clamber over to C.

As per the bigredtix site, B and C are entirely sold out. I truly doubt that's the case for C, or, if so, a bunch of STMs are not showing up. Either is likely tbh.

So my guess is probably like...
2500 townies
1800 students
Probably like 800 student STM? Mostly in B and some spots in A and C. Idk if anyone is buying season tickets for E.
Townies probably more around 1500 or so. Feels like there are a LOT of townie STMs.

I am surprised that over 40 % of the Cornell attendance is townies as this does not appear to me to be reflected in the postings here at eLynah. RPI threads on USCHO have a much larger percentage of townie posts, not that I know how it compares with the HFH attendance percentage.

[marty]

It would be helpful to know, of the ~4,300 seats at Lynah:
How many are townies
How many are students
Of these townie/student subgroups, how many are season ticket holders

Pretty sure A through E are student only sections, and sell student only season tickets at the beginning of the year. I believe ABC are assigned seats, DEF are general admission?

I know students who like to catch games from O (seriously?), I know of many others who buy tickets in FGHJ and just clamber over to C.

As per the bigredtix site, B and C are entirely sold out. I truly doubt that's the case for C, or, if so, a bunch of STMs are not showing up. Either is likely tbh.

So my guess is probably like...
2500 townies
1800 students
Probably like 800 student STM? Mostly in B and some spots in A and C. Idk if anyone is buying season tickets for E.
Townies probably more around 1500 or so. Feels like there are a LOT of townie STMs.

I am surprised that over 40 % of the Cornell attendance is townies as this does not appear to me to be reflected in the postings here at eLynah. RPI threads on USCHO have a much larger percentage of townie posts, not that I know how it compares with the HFH attendance percentage.

Eyeballing the Houston crowd this year makes me think the townie are the majority.

[ursusminor]

It would be helpful to know, of the ~4,300 seats at Lynah:
How many are townies
How many are students
Of these townie/student subgroups, how many are season ticket holders

I suspected that, but since I have not attended myself since shortly before COVID started, I was not certain.

Pretty sure A through E are student only sections, and sell student only season tickets at the beginning of the year. I believe ABC are assigned seats, DEF are general admission?

I know students who like to catch games from O (seriously?), I know of many others who buy tickets in FGHJ and just clamber over to C.

As per the bigredtix site, B and C are entirely sold out. I truly doubt that's the case for C, or, if so, a bunch of STMs are not showing up. Either is likely tbh.

So my guess is probably like...
2500 townies
1800 students
Probably like 800 student STM? Mostly in B and some spots in A and C. Idk if anyone is buying season tickets for E.
Townies probably more around 1500 or so. Feels like there are a LOT of townie STMs.

I am surprised that over 40 % of the Cornell attendance is townies as this does not appear to me to be reflected in the postings here at eLynah. RPI threads on USCHO have a much larger percentage of townie posts, not that I know how it compares with the HFH attendance percentage.

Eyeballing the Houston crowd this year makes me think the townie are the majority.

It would be helpful to know, of the ~4,300 seats at Lynah:
How many are townies
How many are students
Of these townie/student subgroups, how many are season ticket holders

Pretty sure A through E are student only sections, and sell student only season tickets at the beginning of the year. I believe ABC are assigned seats, DEF are general admission?

I know students who like to catch games from O (seriously?), I know of many others who buy tickets in FGHJ and just clamber over to C.

As per the bigredtix site, B and C are entirely sold out. I truly doubt that's the case for C, or, if so, a bunch of STMs are not showing up. Either is likely tbh.

So my guess is probably like...
2500 townies
1800 students
Probably like 800 student STM? Mostly in B and some spots in A and C. Idk if anyone is buying season tickets for E.
Townies probably more around 1500 or so. Feels like there are a LOT of townie STMs.

I am surprised that over 40 % of the Cornell attendance is townies as this does not appear to me to be reflected in the postings here at eLynah. RPI threads on USCHO have a much larger percentage of townie posts, not that I know how it compares with the HFH attendance percentage.

Eyeballing the Houston crowd this year makes me think the townie are the majority.

I suspected that, but since I have not attended myself since shortly before COVID started, I was not certain.

[abmarks]

The appearance of scarcity is enough to create scarcity.   

The only way to forever boost up student ticket buys is to bring back the line and the outdoor campout. Everyone on campus would hear that it's almost time for that annual ritual. And it's safe to assume that anyone new to campus who heard students were camping out overnight for tickets to something would ask what was going on.

If people are willing to camp out in line for tickets, they must be something really worthwhile right?

I arrived in fall of 1985, and though the procedure changed several times during my years on campus, the student tickets generally sold out from the line.  If you thought you might even want tickets at all you really needed to get in line for fear of being locked out. It's a self perpetuating cycle.

Realistically, I don't think there's a snowballs chance of that tradition coming back.

But I'll ask this:  If Duke banned the season ticket campout for hoops and switched to some form of electronic lottery or something like that, don't you think that 10 years down the line there would be a significant reduction in "on campus craziness"?

[RichH]

The appearance of scarcity is enough to create scarcity.   

The only way to forever boost up student ticket buys is to bring back the line and the outdoor campout. Everyone on campus would hear that it's almost time for that annual ritual. And it's safe to assume that anyone new to campus who heard students were camping out overnight for tickets to something would ask what was going on.

If people are willing to camp out in line for tickets, they must be something really worthwhile right?

I arrived in fall of 1985, and though the procedure changed several times during my years on campus, the student tickets generally sold out from the line.  If you thought you might even want tickets at all you really needed to get in line for fear of being locked out. It's a self perpetuating cycle.

Realistically, I don't think there's a snowballs chance of that tradition coming back.

But I'll ask this:  If Duke banned the season ticket campout for hoops and switched to some form of electronic lottery or something like that, don't you think that 10 years down the line there would be a significant reduction in "on campus craziness"?

Hot Truck started taking phone orders and was gone within two years.

Rituals matter.

[abmarks]

The appearance of scarcity is enough to create scarcity.   

The only way to forever boost up student ticket buys is to bring back the line and the outdoor campout. Everyone on campus would hear that it's almost time for that annual ritual. And it's safe to assume that anyone new to campus who heard students were camping out overnight for tickets to something would ask what was going on.

If people are willing to camp out in line for tickets, they must be something really worthwhile right?

I arrived in fall of 1985, and though the procedure changed several times during my years on campus, the student tickets generally sold out from the line.  If you thought you might even want tickets at all you really needed to get in line for fear of being locked out. It's a self perpetuating cycle.

Realistically, I don't think there's a snowballs chance of that tradition coming back.

But I'll ask this:  If Duke banned the season ticket campout for hoops and switched to some form of electronic lottery or something like that, don't you think that 10 years down the line there would be a significant reduction in "on campus craziness"?

Hot Truck started taking phone orders and was gone within two years.

Rituals matter.

Agreed. But it's not just the ritual.  It's the effort required.

[Will]

Hot Truck started taking phone orders and was gone within two years.

Rituals matter.

More like 15 years (after 40+ years without a phone), but nonetheless I agree with your point.

[stereax]

Random thought I just had: being a couple seats under capacity for the men's games is a heck of a lot better than the attendance the women get.

Just looking at the official numbers, and I can't find the last women's game to have attendance over 1000.

Probably last year.

[pjd8]

The appearance of scarcity is enough to create scarcity.   

The only way to forever boost up student ticket buys is to bring back the line and the outdoor campout. Everyone on campus would hear that it's almost time for that annual ritual. And it's safe to assume that anyone new to campus who heard students were camping out overnight for tickets to something would ask what was going on.

If people are willing to camp out in line for tickets, they must be something really worthwhile right?

I arrived in fall of 1985, and though the procedure changed several times during my years on campus, the student tickets generally sold out from the line.  If you thought you might even want tickets at all you really needed to get in line for fear of being locked out. It's a self perpetuating cycle.

Realistically, I don't think there's a snowballs chance of that tradition coming back.

But I'll ask this:  If Duke banned the season ticket campout for hoops and switched to some form of electronic lottery or something like that, don't you think that 10 years down the line there would be a significant reduction in "on campus craziness"?

Hot Truck started taking phone orders and was gone within two years.

Rituals matter.

Agreed. But it's not just the ritual.  It's the effort required.

That's the psychology behind fraternity pledging. It works.

[Pghas]

Our band is great at what they do.  You gotta set the tone and coming into the building with the band playing is thrilling.  Davey after a goal is joyous.  The Dragnet theme for an opp penalty is essentially another crowd cheer.

I love the band, but they are an igniter.  The real fuel is the crowd itself.  That is where the fire either starts or doesn't.  We've all been to enough games that we can feel the difference, and generations of players have said they can too.  When that fire is truly burning, it helps the team.  When the team is playing well it builds the fire.  It is a wonderful symbiosis.

There is a reason every opponent loves to come into Lynah, and why generations of star opposing athletes have said they felt most spectacular when competing against the Lynah crowd because to be the best you have to beat the best.

Coming into the building only a few times a decade, now, it still always feels like going to my church with my congregation.  Lynah is sacred and hellfire consume anyone who harms it either through deliberate action or ineptitude.

My 18 yo son always wanted to go to Cornell but he wanted to do it as a hockey player.  That's not happening - though he applied early from prep school and got in so is Class of 2030 - but 2 summers ago we were at Ryan Vesce's college showcase in Florida which is one of the top recruiting showcases.  So my kid pops one in and there's a band there and they start playing Davey.  And so later I run into them and it turns out Ryan actually has members of the Cornell band come down for this every summer.  I mean, cooler than cool.

I did of course skip chanting it's all your fault at the goalie.