I'm reluctant to join the annual hockey-l battle of the bands, but I was meaning to post something on this earlier. I had the dubious fortune of sitting directly in front of the Clarkson band when they visited SLU recently. It's the only game each year that I get reserved seat tickets since my in-laws (both rabid Clarkson fans) come over for that game. When the few reserved seat tickets go on sale it always seems that everyone asks for anywhere but in front of the Clarkson band, but that's all that's ever left. These have to be among the worst "home" seats in college hockey. This is not a very enjoyable palace to watch a game. The band is VERY loud (to my crotchety old ears) and, of course, gets excited at all the "wrong" times (from an SLU fan's perspective!). They seemed to play continually during the breaks between periods - eliminating any possibility of actually speaking to the person sitting next to you. They also appear to wait for any PA announcement to be sure and drown it out. Who cares who scored or got assists anyway (or who left their lights on)? I had always thought that there were certain rules of etiquette between "competing" bands at the same game. Like "you play this stoppage of play and we'll take the next one". This did not appear to be the case as the "visiting" band repeatedly struck up to attempt to drown out the "home" band's efforts. In this case, the "home" band was invited from a local high school (SLU dorms were not open from break yet). It was embarassing to see these kids efforts spoiled by such behavior. Someone commented on the lack of noise from the SLU fans. Two likely reasons: There was probably a larger proportion of Clarkson fans than usual since they were in session and SLU wasn't. It's tougher to make noise when your team is playing poorly and losing 6-0! I have two specific suggestions, short of an outright ban on bands- (1) There's a block of seats that's already reserved for visiting team supporters right behind the Clarkson bench. Let the band sit among the other Clarkson rooters where they can (a) Blast their own fans ears. (b) Not take up seats that other fans (SLU or Clarkson) might want. It seems overly generous to me to supply opposing fans with TWO concentrated rooting sections. (2) Insist on some reasonable rules of decorum (e.g. alternating playing times) If a band can't behave like reasonable guests, they should not be invited back the next year. Let me add that I also went to the SLU-Clarkson game at Cheel. The band was great there. Nobody has to sit in front of them - except the goalie and he gets to leave between periods (:>). The band adds a lot to the atmosphere. They sound much better from the other side of the rink. Robin Lock St. Lawrence University