While I was attending RPI from 1982-86 I attended every 'Big Red Freakout'
that I had an opportunity to.  They were usually the rowdiest game of the
year (as can be expected).
 
Well, the Freakout got its origin as a means for students to really get
riled up at a hockey game during the late 1970's (when RPI's teams were
not much to sneeze at...).  It usually coincided with the last weekend of
the Winter Carnival (now defunct - the last one was in 1983 or so), a week
of winter partying and frivolity usually during early February.  The
Freakout was usually the climax of the carnival and was usually the best
attended game of the year.  Fans were rowdy, loud and very obnoxious in
supporting the Engineers.  Noisemakers were given out to every attendee
who had a ticket.  Oh, woe to the team that got stuck at Houston during
the Freakout ;-).
 
Anyway, it seams that the noisemakers were cyclical in nature, being given
out in a 4 year cycle.  I heard from upperclassmen (while a frosh) that
the noisemakers at the 1982 Freakout were 'these pathetic hand-clapper
things'.  We certainly did not want any of those.  We were not let down.
The following list contains the Freakout noisemakers from my time at RPI:
 
Year    Opponent        Noisemake       Score
 
1983    St. Lawrence    Stadium Horn    RPI 8 St. Lawrence 1
1984    St. Lawrence    Cowbell         RPI 10 St. Lawrence 2
1985    Yale            Megaphone       RPI 8 Yale 2
1986    St. Lawrence    Hand Clapper    St. Lawrence 3 RPI 0!
 
Every year had a decent noisemaker, except for 1986, the year we lost to
St. Lawrence!  It really does not matter that their goalie played a
phenominal game (I think his name was Yearwood?), it was the cheesy hand-
clapper noisemaker that ruined the streak!  ;-)
 
Hoperfully in 1987, they went back to the Stadium Horn (and in 1991 and
maybe 1995!)
 
Well, enough typos.
 
Have a good day (Bud boycotter because of taste!)
 
Rich Boehme
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