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Epilogue: Regards,
Dan Olsen
 
Maybe it's because we've been used to it, but I can't believe that some fans
wouldn't even stay to support their team to the end of the NCAA games.  These
players, especially the seniors, have worked hard to get as far as they did.
Granted a loss to a lower seed is disappointing and you won't be able to go
back to the office and brag to the other college hockey fans about how your
team is in the final four, but they are still your team.  I was glad to hear
that the majority of Clarkson's fans decided to stay and salute their team.  It
has become a custom and it is a credit to the fans, coaches, and players that
the team means as much to its fans.
 
In my four years of college and one as an alumnus, I have followed the team on
the road on many ocassions, both as a member of the band and as a random
follower.  Although you sometimes get annoyed at the team or the coach, they
still are your team.  (Trust me, I love the Yankees, but George Steinbrenner is
an *@[log in to unmask])  I don't know if this is a particular quality in Clarkson
players, but every time I have run into a player on a road trip that I knew,
they always mentioned how they were glad to see that I made the trip.  Our
players appreciated that fact that we were there and many times made the game
feel a little more like a home game (especially among the apathetic crowds at
RPI and Union) and at other places at least showed our support.
 
I don't know if this is a quality that only a few teams seem to show to their
fans, but I hope not.  I noticed the same thing when RPI lost on Friday at
Placid...where were all the Red Bird's fans on Saturday?  (I can't speak for
Princeton as there were only a few Princeton fans anyway.)  Clarkson had been a
loser in the 1995 and 1996 ECAC semifinals, but still managed to amass a decent
crowd on Saturday, and many of these fans drove back to Potsdam overnight.
 
If the support that RPI fans and UNH fans show are typical of fans throughout
the nation, it fairly simply explains why there is only one game a year on ESPN.
 
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