Here's an editorial from today's Gazette Telegraph, written by Ralph Routon,
a regular columnist in the sports section here.
 
CC is missing a key part of a successful program
 
Now we know what happens when Don Lucia reaches the end of his lengthy fuse.
 
Colorado College's hockey coach was fuming Saturday, describing his Tigers in
terms he hadn't used previously in 1 1/2 seasons here.
 
These also weren't the kind of reactions that normally come from the coach of
a 17-5 team, still comfortably leading the Western Collegiate Hockey Association
and ranked among the nation's top three or four.
 
This didn't happen last season, when the Tigers won the WCHA title for the first
time since 1957 and Lucia was named national coach of the year.
 
Then again, it's not every day Colorado College blows a 4-0 lead in the final
21 minutes, on its home ice, and loses 6-5 to last-place Minnesota-Duluth.
 
"We were beyond bad...we were horrible...you could see it coming," Lucia said,
amplifying each comment with specifics.
 
He walked the line between concern and conniption, apprehension and alarm.  He
knew the Tigers would remain in first place going into their toughest challenge
yet, back-to-back trips to Wisconsin and Minnesota.  He realized it would be
easier, after this slap shot inot CC's collective gut, for the coaches to
redirect the players' priorities.
 
Yet, Lucia also knew this was the kind of jolting loss that can cause even the
best teams to lose their equilibrium.
 
"If we can learn some lessons and improve, then losing the way we did will be
worth it," Lucia said, candid but still tight-lipped.  "It's a long season,
full of peaks and valleys, so we have no reason to panic.  But January is a
big month for us, if we want to win the league again."
 
Lucia still feels good about this CC team, which has sufficient talent, balanced
scoring, leadership and character to make a run at the NCAA tournament.  These
road trips might come at a perfect time for the Tigers, who need to pull closer
and play better team defense.
 
They also aren't the only ones who can benefit from Saturday.
 
Colorado College's fans must learn a few lessons, too.
 
At this game, like some others this season in Cadet Ice Arena, the crowd acted
like a convention of retired bankers.  Organ music, even the familiar "Charge!"
cadence, stirred no response.  Without students, cheering was sporadic at best.
It was like a mausoleum on a slow day.
 
Some suggested the afternoon start, at the same time as the 49ers-Bears playoff
game, was a factor.  Or maybe the students not being back from holiday break.
 
Stop.  Shouldn't a first-place team, ranked No. 2 entering the weekend, have
a crowd of screaming fans for any game, against any opponent?
 
CC has done more this season to promote hockey and cultivate interest.  But
the school still must take the next steps to create a constant home-ice
environment, loud and intimidating.
 
Such and atmosphere can extricate teams from the sort of doldrums that surfaced
Saturday.  Chanting, clapping, screaming, taunting the opposition, riding the
officials - it all helps.
 
At least now, in Madison and Minneapolis, the Tigers can draw from enemy fans'
emotions.  But they deserve more passionate enthusiasm at home, too.  Empty
seasts aren't the issue as much as empty emotions.
 
It's time for CC followers to wake up, and for the college to do more to ignite
that fervor.  Maybe a theme, a special chant, even an adopted fight song.  Bring
in more kids when the students are gone.  Hire a professional cheerleader.
Anything.
 
Lucia has brought the Tigers much too far, with no suffering, for crowd apathy
to exist in any form.  CC is on the threshold of becoming a perennial winner
in hockey, but the college must realize there is more to having a nationally
prominent program than just a great coach with gifted student-athletes.
 
If this truly is a hockey town, and if the school really does care, the time
has come for Colorado Springs - and Colorado College - to show it.
 
Otherwise, this run of success could leave as quickly as it came.  And so
could Don Lucia.
 
(end of article)
 
Some comments: I think that part of it is that there is nothing organized at
the games.  At the Broadmoor, there was this one guy who led cheers all over
the arena and really got people into the games.  He has shown up occasionally
this season, but not much.  Also, with it being so nice outside for the most
part this winter here, most people who aren't die-hard fans might rather spend
some time outside than going to an afternoon hockey game, which is what a lot of
our schedule has ended up being to work around Air Force athletics schedules.
There still were quite a few people at this weekend's games, since it was the
Broadmoor skating club/youth hockey weekend (I think those people either get in
free or for a reduced rate for that weekend, taking advantage of the fact that
students aren't back yet).  The school didn't open any residential buildings
until the 8th, and since most students live on campus, they didn't come back
until Sunday.  I was able to drive down for Saturday's game, since I live only
2 hours away, but it would've been nicer to stay in my room, instead of driving
back home and then right back to school the next day. (but that's just my
personal annoyance at CC Res Life :)  It would be nice to have a pep band like
some schools, instead of recorded music all the time, but unfortunately our
music dept is small, and sometimes we're lucky to get enough people to play in
band and orchestra.
 
Karen
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ Karen Heasley                        ~ "Sometimes I think the surest sign  ~
~ Colorado College '95                 ~  that intelligent life exists else- ~
~ Colorado Springs, CO                 ~  where in the universe is that none ~
~ [log in to unmask]      ~  of it has tried to contact us."    ~
~ [log in to unmask]             ~  - Calvin, Calvin & Hobbes 11/9/94  ~
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