Kepler wrote:
 
> Second the motion.  As John and I both come from a school with a vociferous
> crowd wedged into a small building, it makes sense we'd prefer the noise
> level and crowd participation that large venue fans might not appreciate.
> It's hardly universal, though, seeing as there are people who prefer Cheel
> to Walker (Clarkson's new and old), for instance.  I don't share (or,
> admittedly, fathom) the sentiment, but viva la difference!
 
I don't really know anything about the eastern rinks you mention, but I can tell
you the two reasons why I prefer the new Mariucci Arena to the old one.  First
off, I have a couple thousand more chances to be able to get into a game I want
to see.  The season ticket waiting list is still better than five years long (or
so i've been told by the person I talk to at the ticket office), but there are
more ticket scalpers to work with.  Also, while there were some great seats in
the old place, I always seemed to have a post between me and one of the nets.
The new arenas may be almost identical, but I can at least see the whole rink
from my seat.  Call me unsentimental, but I'm willing to give up a lot of
atmosphere to actually be able to watch the game.
 
J. Michael Neal
 
HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey;  send information to
[log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.