Of Fandom, Then and Now

Trotsky · February 09, 2005, 11:26:02 AM

[Q]CUlater 89 Wrote:As an aside, what impresses me most about Schafer is how unified his teams appear to be, despite the fact that plenty of recruits are not playing or hardly playing. I would have thought there would be more players like Davenport; guys like McKeown, who we seemed to have thought would be a big time scorer; or Pegoraro after last year.[/q]

Name switch in honor of newest kitty. :-)

Very true. Although there have been a few bumps in the last decade, for the most part players have bought into the team-first system. This is equal parts Schafer's abilities to communicate, excellent assistant coaches who don't get enough credit for their roles, the type of player Cornell targets, and the rewards and good feelings generated by winning.

In any case, these are the "glory days," and I hope everyone is, in the words of Ken Dryden, enjoying it while it happens.

RichH · February 09, 2005, 01:04:47 PM

[Q]Greg Berge/Trotsky Wrote:
Likewise, many fans and Cornell people far older and more knowelgeable than I were touting Schafer as the first choice as the next Cornell coach as early as '93. [/Q]
To demonstrate my youth/ignorance, I had really hoped for Casey Jones as a successor to McCutcheon. At the time, he was an assistant and recruiter at Clarkson at the peak of their dominance, after having spent 2 years as an assistant at Cornell. Of course, I wasn't really aware that Mike Schafer was out there. To this day, I'm still amazed that Jones hasn't been snapped up for a head coaching position yet. I know his name has at least been mentioned in several high-profile coaching searches. He has been with Ohio State for nine years now (listed as "Associate Head Coach" in his bio), helping to turn them from a joke to a perennial contender. Yet another Cornell alumnus who has proven to have a knack for recruiting.

[Q]Finally, there was a very strong and admirable personality tie at the highest level of the Cornell sports establishment which kept Coach McCutcheon at Cornell for longer than his coaching record would have warranted. [/Q]
See Gilligan, Mike and Taylor, Tim.

[Q]However, given that situation, it's ridiculous to blame the players. These were in fact the same "grousing" malcontents who miraculously became Harvard Slayers[/Q]
This brings to mind three recent situations regarding rumored (note emphasis) player-grousing: Clarkson, Harvard, and Canisius. With Clarkson, it may have been Mark Morris's perceived rough personality and coaching style or motivational tactics, but that was interceded by a very unfortunate situation that benefitted noone. Harvard year-in, year-out underperformed during the season, and would pull it together for the playoffs. Last year, you heard a LOT of rumors about the players/parents/boosters really pushing for a change, and it finally happened. Harvard really handled the situation about as well as you could in terms of keeping it internal. I don't claim to know much about the recent Cavanaugh situation at Canisius (AdamW has written about it), but the following links hint at how...strange/interesting this case is:
http://www.uscho.com/news/2004/12/18_009437.php
http://www.uscho.com/news/2004/12/22_009448.php

[Edit] And just an hour after I wrote this, Adam is reporting on USCHO that the AD at Canisius is resigning.
http://www.uscho.com/news/2005/02/09_009889.php

Beeeej · February 09, 2005, 05:26:59 PM

[Q]Trotsky Wrote:Name switch in honor of newest kitty. :-)[/q]

And with your e-mail address hidden, and no indication of what your name used to be, we're presumed to be able to know who you are how...? ::nut::

Beeeej

RichH · February 09, 2005, 06:06:14 PM

[Q]Beeeej Wrote:

[Q2]Trotsky Wrote:Name switch in honor of newest kitty. [/Q]
And with your e-mail address hidden, and no indication of what your name used to be, we're presumed to be able to know who you are how...?

Beeeej[/q]

Elementary, Beeeej. Just looking at ISP domains...

Posted by Greg Berge on February 8, 2005 05:38PM (---.cust-rtr.swbell.net)
Posted by Trotsky on February 9, 2005 11:26AM (---.cust-rtr.swbell.net)

Also, consider that Greg's handle over on USCHO is due to a cat, as well.

Beeeej · February 09, 2005, 06:41:51 PM

I knew Greg's handle has occasionally been cat-based, but his cats are usually named after dead scientists, not dead communists.

Plus, I didn't feel like wasting the time on investigating - and since I post from a few different domains, I didn't think it'd be conclusive.

Beeeej

KeithK · February 09, 2005, 07:52:20 PM

I just assumed that it was Greg because he was the one in the back and forth with CULater.

Beeeej · February 09, 2005, 07:57:13 PM

That's another thing - Greg has historically posted from flat view at the end of a thread, not from threaded view in response to a specific message. :-{)}

Beeeej

Trotsky · February 09, 2005, 11:10:27 PM

[Q]KeithK Wrote:

I just assumed that it was Greg because he was the one in the back and forth with CULater.[/q]

Yep, I kinda thought that had made it obvious.

ugarte · February 11, 2005, 04:04:42 PM

[Q]Trotsky Wrote:

[Q2]KeithK Wrote:

I just assumed that it was Greg because he was the one in the back and forth with CULater.[/Q]
Yep, I kinda thought that had made it obvious.[/q]People who change their handles are jerks.

Will · February 11, 2005, 04:08:32 PM

[Q]ugarte Wrote:

People who change their handles are jerks.[/q]

Naturally, both you and I would know this all too well. :-P

Ben Rocky '04 · February 11, 2005, 06:09:53 PM

I have been trying to remember the exact circumstances of that cheer for quite a while. Thank you so much!

andyw2100 · February 12, 2005, 02:09:43 AM

When Schafer returned to Cornell as head coach he set four immediate goals for the program. They were (I don't recall if there was an order...if there was, this probably isn't it):

1)Sell out Lynah
2) Earn home ice for the playoffs
3) Beat Harvard
4)?

What was the fourth? I've been trying to come up with it for a while, and just can't remember it.

Thanks!
Andy W.

jtwcornell91 · February 12, 2005, 08:36:59 AM

I only remember the three you list.

Robb · February 12, 2005, 06:12:50 PM

4) try to find someone to polish the trophies?

andyw2100 · February 12, 2005, 07:45:12 PM

[Q]Robb Wrote:

4) try to find someone to polish the trophies?[/q]

The part about polishing the trophies wasn't one of the four goals. If memory serves, Schafer had the team polishing the trophies to instill a sense of the great history of the program.
Andy W.