Billy Lustgarten said:
>A tradition at Cornell is to throw fish on the ice just
>before Harvard/Cornell's annual match at Lynah Rink.  (My knowledge of the
>historical background to this is pretty lacking).
 
The historical perspective is that fish used to be thrown only when Cornell
had scored a goal on Harvard, not before the game even started.
Unfortunately, with a weaker program during the early 90s, Cornell had
trouble scoring that first goal; I even recall leaving Lynah with a fish in
my pocket after one shutout.  I guess some of the Lynah Faithful decided
that a reasonable solution would be to throw the fish at the beginning of
the game, just in case we didn't score any goals.
 
Frankly, I've always wondered what would happen if some Cornellians threw
fish on the ice at Bright in Cambridge; according to the rules, or at least
the guidelines the refs seem to follow, Harvard should be penalized for it.
 
Jeffrey Anbinder
Cornell University Development
 
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