As an ardent and very long-term Cleveland Browns fan (35 years!) I
actually wince as I relate this example, but with reference to the
discussion of how officials might handle unruly fans threatening to or
actually throw(ing) things on the ice:
 
The best handling of this sort of thing I've ever seen was Sam Wyche's
when he was still coaching the Cincinnati Bengals.  During a wintry game
the Bengals fans began throwing snowballs at the opposition players.
Wyche got a link to the PA system and screamed at them, "Stop throwing
things right now!  Do you want people to think this is CLEVELAND??!!"
 
(For the 1/100 who might not understand the background for this, in the
late '80's a rabid fan section developed in Cleveland Stadium's bleacher
section, which is close to one of the end zones of the football field.
The spot, for reasons too obscure to consume bandwidth here, was and is
known as the "Dog Pound." Along with barking and wearing lots of weird
dog masks and generally having a rowdy good time, for the first couple
of years Dog Pounders (some of them) would throw dog bones--usually the
bone-shaped dog biscuits--on the field.  Sometimes these hit the
opposing players, and sometimes actual bones were used as projectiles.
This practice was effectively squelched after a couple of years, and the
Dog Pound continues as a noisy and colorful, but generally well-behaved,
rooting section.  But its early behavior, coupled with the total lack of
love between Cincinnati and Cleveland, the fans and the players, gave
Wyche a terrific way to settle down his own fans.  It was SUCH an
insult!  (Didn't make him any more popular in Cleveland, but somehow I
don't think that was ever one of Wyche's high priorities.) ;-)
 
So, a college hockey coach can just go on the PA system with "Stop that
right now!  Do you want people to think this is (fill in with
appropriate most obnoxious rival fans' home)?!"
 
 **********************************************************************
 *  Steve Christopher, NMU  [log in to unmask]             * * * *    *
 *  NCAA Division I Hockey National Champions  1990-91   *   GO   *   *
 *  NCAA Division I Hockey Final Eight 1991-92           *       - and
 *  WCHA League Champions 1990-91                        * 'CATS! Browns
 *  WCHA Playoff Champions 1988-89/1990-91/1991-92 . . .   * * * *  !!*
 **********************************************************************