Classification: Prologue: Dan Olsen IBM Global Services Client Services Representative East Fishkill, NY / Building 504 2J5-21 Ph: 8-532-5259 / (914) 892-5259 FAX: 8-532-7588 / (914 )892-7588 Mail: IBMUSM00(DOLSEN) or [log in to unmask] Epilogue: Dan Olsen The teams that are in contention are always going to have more perceived rivalries that teams that are not. I'm sure all of the ACC teams see Florida St. as a great rivalry because the players get up for the game. Florida St., however, sees the ACC as their stomping ground and probably sees Florida as their #1 rival. The same is true for Minnesota in the WCHA and to some extent Clarkson in the ECAC. Both of these teams have been consistently at the top of their leagues throughout their history (Clarkson has the highest winning pct. of all time). There is no doubt that Clarkson/SLU is the number 1 rivalry year in and year out. What else do you expect from two schools in the middle of nowhere 10 miles apart whose only D1 sport is hockey. These matchups are big even if one team has dominated the other (as Clarkson has done of late). There is always a huge line at both arenas whenever the CU/SLU tickets go on sale. Clarkson's "other" rivalries are a product of their success and their educational structure (believe it or not). Clarkson/RPI is a college decision made by many a high school senior going into the education field. Most of us at Clarkson think we're "cool" and that RPI is a bunch of "dorks" (I imagine RPI will say the same). Clarkson and RPI compete on every level, in and out of sport. The fact that many friendships come out of RPI and Clarkson grads working together even further increases the rivalry among fans and if the fans are in to the games, you bet the players will be. I'm sure Cornell fans would say Colgate is their #1 rival, with Clarkson second. This rivalry is age old, partially because of the student base of Clarkson (widely from upstate NY), and also because Clarkson and Cornell have had very successful teams at the same times since the 1950s. Clarkson's newest rivalry is with the Catamounts of Vermont. This rivalry has the ability to grow if both teams continue their winning ways. The fans that follow both teams are similar (referring to the townies), and the schools are only 2 hours apart. Vermont is kind of left out of the Dartmouth rivalry, mainly because of that Ivy league thing. Speaking of Ivy League, that may in some little way increase the rivalry between Clarkson and it's Ivy foes (some Clarksoners likes to consider Clarkson as a "Little Ivy"). owner-hockey-l @ MAINE.MAINE.EDU 02-13-97 03:52 PM Please respond to [log in to unmask]@internet To: HOCKEY-L @ MAINE.maine.edu@internet cc: Subject: Re: Strongest Rivalry At 06:31 AM 2/13/97 PST, Laura Phelps wrote: >I'd have to agree with the strongest ECAC rivalry being Clarkson vs. SLU. An intersting comment, but as someone said earlier, the intense rivalries are not necessarily two sided. Two Clarkson fans have cited SLU as their #1 foe. Ask most RPI fans who their biggest rival is and most will say Clarkson. Travel down the road to Schenectady and ask the same question to a Union supporter and most would say RPI. Yet RPI doesn't feel that way in return (at least not us old-timers). We "grew up" thinking of Union as a Division III school (which they were way back then in the early days of (oops, sorry., got carried away)). RPI has dominated the series against Union so its difficult to get excited about them. The students on the other han, who haven't lived through those days see Union as more of a rival (especially since Union humiliates us in football every year). So the rivalry will only grow. This year, RPI-Union went 1-1-1 so we've gotten to the point where Union can now beat RPI on any given day. Wait until Union eliminates RPI from the playoffs some year. That will certainly heat things up. Mark Lewin Class of '69 HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List. HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.