UNH fans

[DeltaOne81]

Ok, so I can't let the season go yet. The praise coming from the UNH fans on USCHO speaks volumes.

Check out the thread at http://uscho.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10726 if you feel like having a swollen head ;-)

-Fred, DeltaOne81 '03

[Jeff Hopkins \'82]

I thought most of the UNH fans showed a lot of class, both when I was in school, and now.

In Worcester, I sat in front of a group of UNH fans, who started off the game with "We are going to score a goal every two minutes!"  but after we scored to go up 2-1 they realized they had a game on their hands and settled down for the battle.  Half way through the second, I heard one of them say, "These guys are good.  We might lose this."   By the end of the game, we were on speaking terms, and they agreed it was one of the best games they'd seen this year, and probably their toughest opponent.   They also got a big kick from the Faithful.

Can't wait till next year!

LGR!!!

[jbeaber1998]

I was sitting in front of the two women with the U-H-N signs.  Kudos to you guys for tormenting them.  They had no clue and no UNH fans around them bothered to tell them for, what, at least a period....

-John

[crodger1]

While in general I thought the UNH fans excellent, I did find a couple of things amusing:

1)  We don't throw fish at away games, and though they were the "home team", they were not really at home.  Bench minor?  Or don't they know that a UNH fan threw the fish?

2)  After the "safety school" cheer, the UNH fan behind us said "a degree from UNH is just as good as a degree from Cornell" or something to that effect.  Hmm.

3)  The Big Red Bear gets no respect (the UNH fan behind us said... "is that a ferret?  A hamster?"), but what WAS that giant tail-missing squirrel that they had on the ice?

[twh2]

Yeah, that was funny:-)   And they just kept putting it up, U-H-N, U-H-N, U-H-N, they were so proud of themselves.  I almost felt bad throwing safety school in their faces, almost...:-P

[jbeaber1998]

And the UNH mascot.  A tailess Squirrel?  A gray chipmunk?  I went to UNH.  They had this ugly blue cat while I was there but at least it looked like a cat.

-John

[Will]

Well, personally, I'm not a huge fan of the Big Red Bear--his head fell off too many times this season and he never threw enough candy into Section D at Lynah. :-D  But I guess I have to support him over the UNH/UHN mascot. ;-)

[jtwcornell91]

The bear heads got replaced a few years ago, and IMHO the old ones were a lot better-looking.

[Lowell '99]

Because I like diverting the conversation, I just want to say that JTW is right.  The old bear heads were far better than the new Big Red rabid squrriels, just as the old athletics logo was far better than the characterless new ones.  Can I make a donation to get rid of those two new ones?  I'm serious here.  Just tell me who to make the check out to.  I'll gladly go into (more) debt for this noble cause.

Change isn't bad, but bad change is.

[Beeeej]

Hey, maybe we can get a permanent ban on "Macho Man" thrown in as a 3-for-the-price-of-2 deal.

Anyway, the old bear heads weren't exactly the most stable things either.  Especially if you were trying to skate around in one, after, say, driving a 12-hour cab shift.

Beeeej

[Greg Berge]

Also, isn't a bear head only good for about 3 seasons before it starts to permanently smell... like a severed bear head?

[CU Bear]

The NCAA guy dealing with the mascots this weekend also made fun of the UNH mascot for not having a tail.  

As for the bear heads, this was the third year with the head I skated with at Placid / NCAA.  It is in bad shape (missing eyes for a year now), but at least they stay on.  I never lost my head this season (a few of the other bears did in the "new" heads).  

The "new" heads (we got half way through last year) that people lost are weighted very funny and are not really long enough to stay on properly (that's why I don't use them).  Those new heads were modeled after the bear leaning against the C athletic logo and look decent.  They apparently cost a lot of money to make and when we didn't like them we were stuck.  

I personally would like to see us invest in a head similar in style to the other mascots this weekend (BU, Maine, UNH - oh no, actual sports marketing!), but continue to allow us to wear a hockey uniform (unlike the other mascots this weekend).  If anybody has a line on where to get these, let me know.  I know in the past the bears got money from the SA, not sure where that stands now.

As for the candy:  The NCAA guys didn't let me throw candy in Whoosta, they were afraid people would throw it back because they wouldn't know what to do with it (QU fans proved them right when Beeej gave them a few pieces).  

All in all the bears are in bad shape right now (only one left after this season).  Bad relations with the Lynah rink staff and poor organization in the past few years hasn't helped, but I'm trying to get things on better terms.  Some people seem to like the bears (or at least the candy), so I'll keep doing it.

Anyway, way too much info on the mascot.

[Beeeej]

At first, the QU fans seemed really delighted and almost touched that I went down there with the leftover Snickers - a "hey, this Cornell guy is making a genuine overture of good fan relations, and he had to hobble down here to do it" sort of thing.

But one bad reffing call, and the candy was flying on the ice.  Ah, well... they'll learn.

Beeeej

[Greg Berge]

FWIW, I think the bears are great and should remain part of the hockey tradition.

[DeltaOne81]

One thing's always bothered me about the bears... they can tear up parts of the ice pretty badly. Geez guys, let the players have a fresh surface for at least a little while.