Ever since the revival of the Sioux program in the mid to late 1990's, certain members of the general public have tried to take away student seats so they can have them for themselves. I was a freshman during Gino's final, pathetic year as head coach. We won 11 games that year (7 at home). The crowd was only about half-full most nights, but I also remember that the general public section of the Old Ralph was a lot emptier than the student section.
After Blais took over and the program took off, tickets became hard to come by and season tickets were soon gone. Suddenly, people in the Grand Forks area who wouldn't give the team the time of day before suddenly wanted tickets, but couldn't get them because they waited too long to commit to the program.
Instead of getting on the waiting list and waiting their turn, certain individuals around here decided to take out their frustrations on the student body, who for the most part had stuck with their team through both thick and thin. They would criticize students for not filling up the student section during a long holiday weekend or one of those infernal Saturday-Sunday afternoon weekends that Wanless loved so much. These were times where a lot of students either wanted to go home and spend some time with their families or had jobs they had to work. But the anti-student crowd insisted that the students didn't "appreciate" their seats and that they should lose them.
Now we have a brand-new arena, but the same tired old bullcrap. REA, Inc. had better realize that the student section is still the heart and soul of the crowd at home games. The crazy and creative signs and cheers, the distractions that they give our opponents (especially the Gophers!!! ) and the overall energy and dedication that they commit to our team all make Sioux home games well worth the money.
I am now a season-ticket holder and a Fighting Sioux Club member and I am 110% behind our student body on this. If we have to rearrange the seating to solve this problem, that's fine. Just make sure that the students can still have the effect that they are supposed to have on the game. Ralph Engelstad built this arena to benefit the program and keep it on top. If we start ruining our home ice advantage by minimizing the students, REA will become what Gopher fans said it was before our sweep this weekend, "Marriucci West". It will become another boring, tame corporate playpen that will not intimidate anyone. I for one do not want to be a part of something like that. I encourage all season-ticket holders and Fighting Sioux Club members to let REA, Inc. and the Athletic Department know that you want the students to continue to have a strong impact during our home games and that you appreciate their energy, enthusiasm, creativity and devotion to our team. I plan on doing so myself. GO SIOUX!!! WE'RE ON OUR WAY BACK!!!
