In response to Keith's note about the possibility of banning pep
bands at Union games, I must say that this is an absolutely terrible idea!
I must preface my response by saying that I was a dedicated member of
Cornell's Big Red Pep band from 1987-1991.  Even when the pep band was
unable to attend many of the away games, I still played my trumpet,
sometimes even individually, to hopefully help influence the outcome of
each game.
        I believe that pep bands are a wonderful asset to the splendor of
college hockey.  A pep band adds an entirely different dimension to hockey
games.  As exciting as college hockey may be without a band, it simply
would be lacking a major component without the presence of visiting pep
bands.  A player can't help but feel a bit more comfortable in the hidden
depths of a visiting rink when he hears the all familiar fight song from
his pep band.  Maybe the players do not play any better (although I truly
believe that they do), but there is no doubt that the presence of a
visiting pep band helps unify the small outnumbered visiting crowd.  It is
difficult enough for a team to win while playing on the road, but without
any unified crowd support from their visiting fans, it is even more
difficult.
        Granted, the home team, in this case Union, should be allowed to
have the "home-ice" advantage, but if their fans can't out-cheer the small
number of visiting fans with their pep band, then maybe they don't deserve
this so-called "home-ice" advantage.  College hockey is more than simply
two teams fighting to score goals; it is also the fight of the fans.
Louder (and therefore, usually better) fans give their team an advantage.
If certain schools, such as RPI in this situation, have the ability and
desire to travel to away games, they should be rewarded.  A pep band that
travels to away games is part of the game.  Pep bands would probably agree
that they play better as a whole when another pep band in in the rink is
competing with them.  Therefore, their fans react more positively and
usually will end up rooting more intensely for their team (due to the
increased enthusiasm from the band) improving their team's chances of
winning the game.
        If Union fails to allow visiting pep bands to play in their rink,
they would be hurting the game of college hockey.  Instead of making the
effort to keep visiting pep bands away, maybe they should try to form a
quality pep band that can actually compete with other college pep bands.
By taking this approach, I believe that the atmosphere in the rink will be
greatly improved, and maybe the quality of play of their team will improve
(imagine that?).  I would love to hear other people's thought's.
 
Jeff Weintraub
Cornell '91, Cornell Medical '95
GO BIG RED!!!