Your Love for Sioux Hockey

[MafiaMan]

In the spirit of GPL's "You might be a Sioux fan if...," I thought i would add a more positive thread over here to help kill some time before next Thursday.

So let's hear it...the moment that you just KNEW there would never be another team for you...

[gfhockey]

und uw game when I was 5 years old

sitting by the band

badger thrownon the ice

uncle was hammerd

dad was boozed up

had to get grandma to get us from game

[iluvdebbies]

und uw game when I was 5 years old

sitting by the band

badger thrownon the ice

uncle was hammerd

dad was boozed up

had to get grandma to get us from game

C'mon, tell the truth.....Granny was buzzing

[YaneA]

First hockey game I ever saw. Sioux vs the powerhouse Seawolves. Last game of season at old Ralph, maybe, in 1995. I'm sure the Sioux won but can't recall the score. I was sitting low near the ice, marveling at the speed, jerseys rippling with every stride. Loved the sound the skates made on the ice. Flash of a goalie's glove. Tape to tape passes. The skill involved in finding the back of the net. Roar of the crowd. Fell in love right then and there with Sioux hockey. Soul mates.

[siouxnatty#8]

und uw game when I was 5 years old

sitting by the band

badger thrownon the ice

uncle was hammerd

dad was boozed up

had to get grandma to get us from game

no booze in my story i was too young. The water bottle incident when carey eadea went into the wisc bench and just cleaned house on about half the badger feam. I was a lht 8

[Fetch]

When did Archie play & Ian Kidd ?

[Fetch]

& Sandelin ?

[Fetch]

But Eddie & crew sealed the deal for me

[farce poobah]

You might be a Sioux fan if ....

1. Your family members freeze the gophers they kill while hunting.

2. Your family members ask if you want the badger frozen.

3. You met your future spouse at a UND hockey game.

4. You teach the little ones to sieve maroon and gold wherever they see it. (BC, Minnesota, Arizona State, USC ...)

5. You sing the Beer Song at bedtime to your little children.

6. Your season tickets are 300+ miles away.

7. Fridays and Saturday's are "RESERVED" for 28 weekends between October 1 and April 12.

8. You know Western Canada place names and can find them on a map - Castlegar, Dawson Creek, Moose Jaw, High River, Burnaby, Carman...

9. You know which players came from which towns.

10. You see Gwozdecky and want to start singing "Dancing Queen".

[MoreSiouxForYou]

I don't recall the game specifically, but I know I was 4-5. Circus(early 87 winter) was running town in GF. My dad, older brother, another dad and his kid in the seats. I remember a fight, I remember goals and I KNEW I was in love with green and white.

In looking at the schedule without cross referencing a memory of snow in the parking lot. I was hooked. I remember my dad leaning over and saying they will talk about THIS team.

[gfhockey]

11. you think the light rail is a train.

12. you can out drink other teams fans

13. you play 5k at the nudey bar

14. have a 18 pack before the game

15. yell like hell

[MoreSiouxForYou]

You might be a Sioux fan if ....

1. Your family members freeze the gophers they kill while hunting.

2. Your family members ask if you want the badger frozen.

3. You met your future spouse at a UND hockey game.

4. You teach the little ones to sieve maroon and gold wherever they see it. (BC, Minnesota, Arizona State, USC ...)

5. You sing the Beer Song at bedtime to your little children.

6. Your season tickets are 300+ miles away.

7. Fridays and Saturday's are "RESERVED" for 28 weekends between October 1 and April 12.

8. You know Western Canada place names and can find them on a map - Castlegar, Dawson Creek, Moose Jaw, High River, Burnaby, Carman...

9. You know which players came from which towns.

10. You see Gwozdecky and want to start singing "Dancing Queen".

I also qualify on #3 and proud.

[Hayduke]

Friday, December 15th, 1978. Sioux beat the rodents 4-1. My first game at the old Ralph. (I think it was called Winter Sports Arena then..)

We used to go ice skating at the arena during the week to tape bottles of schnapps underneath the seats for the games. Oh, what fun we had...

[farce poobah]

16. You're part of the reason Don Lucia wanted a cooling off period.

17. You still applaud Dean Blais, even though he hasn't coached your team for a decade.

18. You still applaud Gino Gasparini, even though its been 2 decades.

19. You're on a first name basis with WCHA/NCHC refereeing crew, and buy them a round when you see them at your favorite watering hole.

20. You watch Mankato vs Bemidji when your favorite team gets a weekend off.

[gfhockey]

21. you've puked before a hockey game

22. snuck shooters in

23. missed a bar bus after the game

24. hopped on the wrong bar bus

25. started the Sioux yeah yeah

[MoreSiouxForYou]

and 19 &20! Like this list!

[Shawn-O]

21. you've puked before a hockey game

22. snuck shooters in

23. missed a bar bus after the game

24. hopped on the wrong bar bus

25. started the Sioux yeah yeah

Yep, good on 23 & 24.

[Sodbuster]

I also qualify on #3 and proud.

As far as #3, my son did......they'll be married on June 21st.

[MafiaMan]

You might be a Sioux fan if ....

1. Your family members freeze the gophers they kill while hunting.

2. Your family members ask if you want the badger frozen.

3. You met your future spouse at a UND hockey game.

4. You teach the little ones to sieve maroon and gold wherever they see it. (BC, Minnesota, Arizona State, USC ...)

5. You sing the Beer Song at bedtime to your little children.

6. Your season tickets are 300+ miles away.

7. Fridays and Saturday's are "RESERVED" for 28 weekends between October 1 and April 12.

8. You know Western Canada place names and can find them on a map - Castlegar, Dawson Creek, Moose Jaw, High River, Burnaby, Carman...

9. You know which players came from which towns.

10. You see Gwozdecky and want to start singing "Dancing Queen".

Talk about hijacking a thread...damn...I was curious as to how and when folks became fans...

[farce poobah]

Talk about hijacking a thread...damn...I was curious as to how and when folks became fans...

Oops. My bad.

To the original question ... I can't think of one specific reason (but about a hundred).

Back to your regularly scheduled thread...

[MafiaMan]

Oops. My bad.

To the original question ... I can't think of one specific reason (but about a hundred).

Well let's hear some...

[farce poobah]

Well let's hear some...

Okay then ....

The story starts with growing up in a household of NDSU alumni and fans. Now, I'm not one with the outright hate of everything Bison, but like a lot of teenagers, I wanted to be a bit "contrarian". So I became a Sioux fan.

When I got old enough to think about what I wanted to do, I decided UND was the better fit than NDSU (own the farm rather than work on it...), and anything out of state was beyond the family budget in the difficult economy of 1977.

On my first campus visit, I stayed with a classmate, who got us tickets to hockey. I had heard a lot about it. As luck would have it, it was the night of the Sioux-Badgets pregame brawl ... not that I could really fathom why it was all happening (what led up to THAT), but i could sure see what was going on and it was madness. It was mayhem. (It was a lot like "Slap Shot" the movie, only real and right in front of 3000 rabid students.)

Upon arrival on campus, I happened to get in with a great bunch of guys, some of whom knew hockey and a few like me that wondered why they were mowing the ice between periods.

So starting as a Sioux fan, I've grown to be a fan of the game itself. I learned to skate at UND ... even though it was a good thing I took it pass-fail because I'm not sure what grade Rick Wilson or Gino would have given me (maybe a D+). I was fortunate to use a lot of icebags, have a skilled medical person drain my knee a couple times, and learn to play the game (a little) on the English Coulee, the outdoor rinks in University Park (the little kids went home after 10 pm), and the occasional late-night indoor ice somewhere in town.

I learned just how damn difficult the game is to play well. The combination of core strength, gross motor, and fine motor is unmatched in other team sports (the decathlon is perhaps the closest in demanding "all of the above"). But the hardest part of playing hockey is mental. Its frustrating, its infuriating, its maddeningly simple to know what needs to be done but not be able to execute it ... Hockey is a humbling game (ever seen a basketball player wipe out on accident?), and hockey requires the strongest character traits I can think of ... at least among team sports.

So I came to admire the culture of hockey, but even more so, the culture of University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux hockey. Even 37 years ago, Gino talked about the same kinds of character and culture that Blais and Hakstol have talked about ever since. I liked that UND hockey blended the best aspects of American and Canadian hockey, the best parts of urban and rural hockey. I liked how many of the players were the first one in their family to go to college, and the obligation they felt to really "get an education" in addition to following their dream of playing professionally. If you ever wanted to get out of Dawson Creek, BC - hockey was one good way out.

Even back then, the players knew the tradition, and carried with them as a matter of pride. Talking to someone like Mickey Krampotich in 1984, he knew who had worn the jersey number 8 before him, and took pride in adding to the tradition.

I came to appreciate the story of Fido Purpur, who got a chance to play with the Blackhawks when Americans were not hired by most of the Original Six in the NHL. (Thank you Frederic McLaughlin, may you rest in peace. You're why I have been a Chicago Blackhawks fan since the 1970's.) I admired and appreciated how the Founding Fathers of UND hockey started from nothing and built something rather amazing. Since a couple of my great-grandparents lived in a sod cave upon settling in the late 1800's, this aspect of UND hockey hit close to home.

i came to appreciate the men in stripes. Back in the day, the glass was low enough to have a good conversation between whistles. And it was also fairly easy to find the refs at local watering holes. They don't do it for the money, or for the glamour, or to get booed every night. These were purists who loved the game, and put that in motion. Guys with families, understanding bosses, regular jobs or business owners.

As I was starting to learn the game, I came to realize that home ice advantage wasn't just the 200x85 rink. It was the 6000 fans in the stands, seeking to impose their outcome on the game. Again, I was part of a great bunch of guys (and a few females) who were determined to make the most of each weekend's opportunity. And, yeah it was more fun than should have otherwise been legal. (Save Farce stories for another time.) I believe that UND created generations of good will by how they seated students (the good seats SHOULD go to students ... at all colleges ... but only a few actually create their home ice advantage that way). That loyalty, built over generations, is why there's a steady steam of cars each Friday heading into Grand Forks. I bet some come from even farther than the 300 mile trip I make.

Bottom line, like most people I've mellowed a bit with age. But I am still bloody passionate about my hockey team. And when they pick a new nickname, I'll go along with it, and over time maybe even come to like it. But I will always be a fan of the UND Fighting Sioux.

[Hayduke]

Well said FP!

[MDtoGF]

Well.. when I came to UND, the first game I saw was the Oct 5 2012 exhibition vs Manitoba. I got lower bowl student seats and saw the shear enormity of the arena.I think what did it was and still is lining up and being able to see these great players most Fridays and Saturdays while meeting and talking to new people.The friends I have as a UND student were mostly met standing in line at the Ralph.I always love standing in line because I can talk about and learn hockey from the most knowledgeable and nicest people. Now i enjoy the simplicity in the chaos that is the Ralph. Before games I will just walk around the lower bowl and get the view from different areas. I go to so many games the concession workers know what I like. I have not met a single person in the Ralph be it fan student or employee that has been mean to me. Since I started to go to UND I have embraced the Ralph and it has reciprocated.I may not know as much history but I am learning and feel like I have become a part of something bigger then myself in just 2 years. A fan of a team with so much history and a legacy of outstanding people, fans, athletes,and students.

[GreenWing]

I became a conscious fan when Greg Johnson was the shining light in a non prolific era of sioux hockey. I loved watching him play and got to see the program build a national championship team just a few years later. I got goosebumps everytime Scott Hennan would say "David HOOOOOOOOOGSTEEN! "