I remember that while living in Albany in 1987, the fans and press were extremely demanding in their expectations. The local (Gannett, I assume) rag, the Albany Times Union, treated any loss as an unforgiveable letdown and any win as a return to national championship form. Everything was magnified to absurd proportions. Now, I don't think there's anything in the Troy water that makes RPI fans any different from the rest of us, so I assume the circumstance of their then recent national championship had a lot to do with this attitude. This was probably exascerbated by two things: (1) the team declined to mediocrity almost immediately after winning their title, and (2) Troy is a one-team town, and they're it. (Aside: was Troy a big hockey town before the title? I dunno.) I'd be interested in whether other teams which fit this profile have had a similar "post-title syndrome". The recent national champions don't seem to fit the profile, except perhaps Bowling Green. MSU seemed to go downhill soon after their title, but that is definitely not a one-team town. Colgate and SLU had hard times on the heels of title game losses, but there is a big difference between runner-up and actually winning the title in the fans' psyche; just ask the Bills. Greg Malden, MA Let's Go Red!