No More HockeyCam

[CowbellGuy]

Just returned from lunch to find the ethernet wire from Lynah sitting on my chair. Some fine tact they have there. Guess that's it. Sorry. Anyone who wants their donations returned, e-mail me.

[Ben Doyle 03]

Athletics offically SUCKS!!!

[pfibiger]

Age,

Thanks for running it last year. It was huge to be able to watch the games from LA, synced up with the radio broadcast.  I'll miss it.

 Phil

[ugarte]

But I just got a cable modem!  Aaargh! :-(

[Josh '99]

That's a dick move, right there.  If they don't want you doing it, that's one thing, but you'd hope they'd at least, you know, TRY to be polite about it.  ::rolleyes::

[jeh25]

Josh-

Fair enough. But Age has never tried to be polite when dealing with them. :-P

[CowbellGuy]

I have been nothing but polite until the last few weeks.

[Josh '99]

John E Hayes '98 '00 wrote:

Fair enough. But Age has never tried to be polite when dealing with them. :-P

Still, even if he's been impolite (which I have no reason to believe he has), he's at least always used WORDS when attempting to convey a message.  :-P

(OK, and a conveniently placed screw or two.)

[gtsully]

I've never actually used the HockeyCam myself (I just got high-speed service, too), but I think we should all thank Age anyway for setting it up for as long as he did.  It's a shame it had to end at all - let alone the way that it did - but it was a great feature while it lasted.

Thanks, Age.

[kaelistus]

Sigh...

Thanks for some great hockey Age, especially in the later part of last year when all the kinks had gone. That was an awesome thing you had going.

Now I'd like to know Cornell's reasoning on this one. I honestly can't think of a single good excuse for cutting my eyes to Lynah. You could have attributed the OCSN deal to a bad decision, but this one is just a blatant screw you to the fans. I'm still waiting on this allegedly improved experience they said they were going to give us.

[Al DeFlorio]

If they keep improving things at this rate there'll be no Faithful left to enjoy how wonderful it's gonna be. ::uhoh::

Told ya:  bunker mentality.  Add spiteful to my already lengthy list of descriptors.

Instead of using the HockeyCam as a unique recruiting tool, they pull the plug.  Maybe they want to drag the hockey program down to the same level as football, basketball, and baseball.  Nothing would surprise me now.

[Lisa McGill]

My thanks, as well, to Age.  You gave us great hockey and put up a good fight.  You didn't deserve the Athletic Department you got . . .

This is long, and perhaps a wee bit hyperbolic, but I put all that time into it, so here you go:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mr. Noel,

 You don't need me to tell you that no team has a more ardent following
than the Cornell hockey team.  Big Red Hockey gets the sort of student
and alumni support that I imagine other programs--particularly in the
Ivies--must dream about. And in Age Manocchia's HockeyCam, you had an
unprecedented opportunity to satisfy the team's supporters and keep them
connected to Cornell and Big Red sports.  Indeed, "opportunity" isn't
even the right word.  You had the *ability*.  The technology is
available. The infrastructure was in place. It was volunteer-run and
funded by donations. (My donation included, though I can assure you that
the Athletic Department will get no such donation from me now.) And the
desire for it is tremendous.

 What possible reason could your Athletic Department have to reject the
HockeyCam and alienate a large portion of your fanbase?  Not to mention
other fans you'll now be unable to reach?  Most galling of all is that
you made no effort to communicate with the fans on the matter of
internet broadcasting.  I strongly encourage you to rethink your policy
toward the HockeyCam. If you want Cornell supporters to pay for online
broadcasts, then provide the sort of content that justifies it.  You are
in the interesting position of dealing with a fanbase that is
sophisticated both in sports and in technology.  Give us some credit and
show us some respect.  You may find it reciprocated.

 Perhaps you feel you're running a business, but you should remember
that Big Red sports fans are motivated by Cornell spirit, and your
bottom line is tied directly to how we're treated and how we feel about
Cornell.  After the flurry of bad faith that kicked off this hockey
season, I am not feeling at all positive about the Cornell Athletic
Department, and I'm not alone.  The community of Cornell Hockey fans
that you've disrespected will continue
to support the team as strongly as ever, and we will find ways to do it
without supporting your Department.

 Sincerely,
-Lisa McGill '97

[Ben Doyle 03]

Well said Lisa!!!

[marty]

This, I guess, gets chalked up to the adage concerning catching more flies with honey than vinegar or whatever that old adage is.  I'm not one to philosophize and therefore don't have to remember those sayings.

That our of the way, I think that the athletic department is being thin skinned and myopic.  The 'cam was a one of a kind volunteer effort that should have been and may yet be copied all over the league.  I was almost as proud of the hockeycam as I was of the team.  When it first was "broadcast" last year I talked it up at work and at the Houston Fieldhouse of RIP.  One of my friends tried to convince me that someone else had already done this (at Clarkson - no less) but I sure wasn't buying any of that.

So it is with a tear that I say at least a temporary farewell to what I thought was one of the best promotional tools that the team had.  Static from the 200 mile distant broadcast and no video.  Gee we're back in the 70's again.  Who knew time travel was so easily accomplished?


:`(

[Beeeej]

And I'm getting DSL this weekend.  :`(

Beeeej