In reply to Sara and Benjamin.....




Sara wrote:

Now a few comments on the Cornell fans.  They can be obnoxious can't they?
As some of you may already know, I don't like the "trained dogs" (or in
the
case of Cornell , trained bears) types of group cheering.  I hate cheers
that are aimed at the opponent.  I think you should cheer for your own
team
and encourage them, not ridicule the opposition.  I guess I am too
logical.
When I hear "sieve", I think, why then haven't you scored more if he is so
bad?  When I hear "it's all your fault", I think, so your guy isn't
talented and had nothing to do with it.  I think the other team deserves
respect and consideration.  (Thus I don't like the newspaper thing and
yelling "sucks" all the time.)


Ben wrote:

I have more problem with the individual stuff than the group stuff,
especially
when directed at opposing fans. Chanting "ugly parents" like they do at
Yost or
yelling "sucks" in unison when the announcer names the opposing players is
one
thing, but walking up to someone in the corridors and telling them "You
suck"
is something entirely different. Chants should be given much more leeway
than
individual hecklers, IMO. Cornell fans are ok in my book. Yeah it ticks me
off
when they come to Thompson, but more because they can out cheer us in our
own
building than because of anything they actually say. Any chant that
doesn't
involve profanity, and sucks does not count as a profane word to me
anyway, or
racial/sexual/ethnical slurs is fine by me. I would be extremely happy if
Dartmouth's crowds at Thompson got even a fraction as rowdy and united as
the
Cornell fans.

And from all indications, Cornell fans leave it on the ice. I ran into a
guy
from the eLynah message board at the Centrum during one of the
intermissions,
and he invited me to sit with the Cornell people for the remainder of the
game.
For me it was a great time, even though Cornell lost and I was rooting for
them
over UNH as the Ivy League bond takes precedent over geographical
proximity
(not to mention the fact that UNH fans outnumbered them 7-1 at least).
Plus I
got to meet some really cool people, and actually got to take part in some
cheers for a change, been a long time since I've been in a crowd who got
actively involved.

Maybe the Cornell crowd wasn't at their worst since it wasn't in Lynah
itself,
but they were a heckuva lot less offensive than anything I've heard out of
Yost
or a lot of other arenas. Plus you have to admit their "UHN" chant was
classic.

To which I reply:

As the UNH alum and friend who was sitting next to Sara, of course I was
delighted by the outcome of the UNH-Cornell game, even given the
questionable no-icing call with 3 seconds left in the game and Cornell's
"UHN chant." For those of you who missed this, three UNH fans in the
balcony above the Cornell section inadvertently (I hope) got their
placards switched around, and the concentration of Cornell students in the
seats below them picked up on this immediately and began chanting "UHN,
UHN..." And, then when nothing happened to the placards, they began
chanting "Learn how to spell, Learn how to spell...." I found it hard to
believe that the three UNH fans with the "UHN" placards could not hear the
Cornell chants, but a few minutes later they held up their "UHN" signs
again, and this time the Cornell students really let them have it, which
resulted in the UHN signs finally getting corrected. The game was tied 3-3
at the time, and easily could have gone either way. As embarrassing as
this incident was for a UNH fan, I found it terribly amusing. I was really
impressed that the Cornell students could pick up such impromptu chants so
spontaneously, making me think that they are more than just "trained
bears." And, I think Benjamin is absolutely correct that the Cornell fans
"leave it all on the ice," as they gave their goalie and team a long
ovation after their loss. There have been times in the past when I wish
that my fellow UNH fans were more sporting in losing situations.