Atmosphere (or lack of it) at Lynah

I made it up to Lynah this past weekend for the first time since pre-pandemic. While I was glad that we won the game Friday night against Colgate, I left the rink slightly disappointed. The atmosphere just didn't live up to my expectations and memories of previous home games.
First of all, the student sections were great. They eventually filled in, and did a great job with the cheers, chants, etc., as well as with throwing toothpaste at the Colgate players. The pep band was always great, as always, when they were allowed to play. I was disappointed to have to listen to loud piped-in music during the warmups (yes, I know that was what the players have requested). The pre-game piped-in music was so loud I actually had to put my earplugs in, and it just didn't give me the same pleasure as listening to the pep band. I also missed having the pep band playing during all of the play stoppages, not just during some of them. (Speaking of the pep band, they weren't allowed to play Davey after the first Cornell goal the next night in Colgate, and couldn't finish the second verse of the alma mater since their joint performance with the handful of Colgate pep band members cut into the time they had before the intermission was over).
In any case, I was sitting in Section L, a "townie" section. Almost no one around me joined in any of the chants or cheers, giving it a flat atmosphere. As a matter of fact, the highlight of the night in Section L was when a woman sitting right in front of us won the 50-50 raffle and was doling out cash to her friends/family.
My friend who accompanied me and I both felt we enjoyed the atmosphere more when we made the North Country trip last season and for the St. Lawrence game, we were sitting with the Cornell bench a few rows in front of us and the pep band right in back of us. Now that was a fun experience! Although I didn't make it to MSG this year, I have been there most years for Red Hot Hockey/Frozen Apple, and I've come to appreciate that for being the best Cornell hockey fan experience. It's the largest gathering of Cornell hockey fans in one place, and since most of the Cornell fans are alums (and their families, etc.), they enthusiastically join in for most of the cheers and chants. It was also a lot of fun sitting in the Cornell section at the NCAA regionals last season in Springfield.
I realize that once the genie is out of the bottle with the piped-in music, etc., there's no going back. I'll just have to accept the fact that the Lynah game experience isn't what it used to be. But that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it!

dbilmes
I made it up to Lynah this past weekend for the first time since pre-pandemic. While I was glad that we won the game Friday night against Colgate, I left the rink slightly disappointed. The atmosphere just didn't live up to my expectations and memories of previous home games.
First of all, the student sections were great. They eventually filled in, and did a great job with the cheers, chants, etc., as well as with throwing toothpaste at the Colgate players. The pep band was always great, as always, when they were allowed to play. I was disappointed to have to listen to loud piped-in music during the warmups (yes, I know that was what the players have requested). The pre-game piped-in music was so loud I actually had to put my earplugs in, and it just didn't give me the same pleasure as listening to the pep band. I also missed having the pep band playing during all of the play stoppages, not just during some of them. (Speaking of the pep band, they weren't allowed to play Davey after the first Cornell goal the next night in Colgate, and couldn't finish the second verse of the alma mater since their joint performance with the handful of Colgate pep band members cut into the time they had before the intermission was over).
In any case, I was sitting in Section L, a "townie" section. Almost no one around me joined in any of the chants or cheers, giving it a flat atmosphere. As a matter of fact, the highlight of the night in Section L was when a woman sitting right in front of us won the 50-50 raffle and was doling out cash to her friends/family.
My friend who accompanied me and I both felt we enjoyed the atmosphere more when we made the North Country trip last season and for the St. Lawrence game, we were sitting with the Cornell bench a few rows in front of us and the pep band right in back of us. Now that was a fun experience! Although I didn't make it to MSG this year, I have been there most years for Red Hot Hockey/Frozen Apple, and I've come to appreciate that for being the best Cornell hockey fan experience. It's the largest gathering of Cornell hockey fans in one place, and since most of the Cornell fans are alums (and their families, etc.), they enthusiastically join in for most of the cheers and chants. It was also a lot of fun sitting in the Cornell section at the NCAA regionals last season in Springfield.
I realize that once the genie is out of the bottle with the piped-in music, etc., there's no going back. I'll just have to accept the fact that the Lynah game experience isn't what it used to be. But that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it!

Maybe we should put the genie back in.

I'm not exactly sure what the reference to warmups actually means. But I'lll never forget when I attended my first game at Lynah, and the lights were out; then, as the Cornell team skated onto the ice, a single spotlight shined on the team and followed them, and the band played Mancini's Theme from Peter Gunn. It was like watching sharks circling their prey and one of the most memorable experiences of my time watching Cornell athletics.

Only after this did the team start warming up by shooting at goal, etc.

Swampy

Maybe we should put the genie back in.

I'm not exactly sure what the reference to warmups actually means. But I'lll never forget when I attended my first game at Lynah, and the lights were out; then, as the Cornell team skated onto the ice, a single spotlight shined on the team and followed them, and the band played Mancini's Theme from Peter Gunn. It was like watching sharks circling their prey and one of the most memorable experiences of my time watching Cornell athletics.

Only after this did the team start warming up by shooting at goal, etc.

What era was this?

abmarks

Swampy

Maybe we should put the genie back in.

I'm not exactly sure what the reference to warmups actually means. But I'lll never forget when I attended my first game at Lynah, and the lights were out; then, as the Cornell team skated onto the ice, a single spotlight shined on the team and followed them, and the band played Mancini's Theme from Peter Gunn. It was like watching sharks circling their prey and one of the most memorable experiences of my time watching Cornell athletics.

Only after this did the team start warming up by shooting at goal, etc.

What era was this?

Early 60s but without spotlight and music. Full house when team came on ice, lights came on and no need for music with crowd reaction. But a bygone era never to be repeated.

Al DeFlorio

abmarks

Swampy

Maybe we should put the genie back in.

I'm not exactly sure what the reference to warmups actually means. But I'lll never forget when I attended my first game at Lynah, and the lights were out; then, as the Cornell team skated onto the ice, a single spotlight shined on the team and followed them, and the band played Mancini's Theme from Peter Gunn. It was like watching sharks circling their prey and one of the most memorable experiences of my time watching Cornell athletics.

Only after this did the team start warming up by shooting at goal, etc.

What era was this?

Early 60s but without spotlight and music. Full house when team came on ice, lights came on and no need for music with crowd reaction. But a bygone era never to be repeated.

The particular event I described was mid-60s. I disagree about the music. Listen to Theme from Peter Gunn, close your eyes, and imagine the team skating out from the SW corner of the rink, in a column of players, 2 skaters wide. The lights over the ice are turned off except individual lights over the rink turn on as the column passes underneath, giving the effect of a spotlight. Eventually the column circles the rink and faces the western goal, where warmups commence. It was classy and intimidating.

With piped-in music at sporting events, I have a feeling we're not fighting the man, here, we're fighting the sea. My favorite example is the noise fart from The Natural when Roy hits his homerun. This is now blasted into stadiums all over baseball when a home player hits a dinger.

The result is inevitable: boredom. Sucking all the real energy out of the event. Reducing reality to what Baudrillard called hyperreality.

But... I think it's what people have come to expect, and to want. For people raised in the killing jar of overprocessed media, with experience sanitized into these quantized consumable blocks, that is what they consider the sublime.

You can't free a fish from water. It is no favor to people who have been infantilized to drag them towards mature aesthetics. They simply won't like them. And this is supposed to be entertainment, not improvement.

[www.tiktok.com]

IDK, this team in Sweden seems like they have the crowd pretty engaged...

dbilmes: In a very similar vein to notable larger and arguably much more consequential issues facing us, it's up to each of us to do what we can to try to nudge the ship in the right direction. Don't lose hope. It all starts with a small step.

Lynah still has a far better game-day atmosphere than any of the other college rinks I’ve attended games at.

CAS
Lynah still has a far better game-day atmosphere than any of the other college rinks I’ve attended games at.

Preach.

I figure I might as well put this here as anywhere.

I just discovered that the previously "sold out" Fish-and-fowl game now has Gen. Admission seats available in Section F.