Fetch Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 I'll wait to really comment & give details - But was the crowds & their behavior normal for a tourney like that ? I have mixed feelings - while the energy & excitement were Great !!! - the smack & anger & even rage were way above what I expected I'd go again in a heartbeat - But compared to the Ralph this place is NUTZ :O Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Let'sGoHawks! Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 Did you see the "Goldy" hanging from the hockey stick? It was blindfolded and had its hands tied, beautiful!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tboneund Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 Last year there was a lot of jabbing by everyone back-and-forth, but it was all in good fun and when the game was over we congratulated the fans of the winning team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigGreyAnt41 Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 The only "bad mouthing," if you could call it that, that I got was the guy at the gate making sure I wasn't sneakin anything in, he made a few comments about how it's ok to be second place. Otherwise I didn't hear anything about the rival and the hatred the fans have for each other when the game wasn't in play. There was one guy sitting in the first row of Suite level making stupid comments during the game, he was yelling them done to us in the 100 level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sioux Traveler Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 Just some goofy gopher fan whining about some LAZY austrian. Other wise they were pretty decent over all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiouxTupa Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 One funnything was that a few UMD fans that were walking along side us said that they would be cheering us on. They said they weren't normally Sioux fans, but some gopher fans had jeered them and acted super arrogant towards them. I know it could've been sour grapes, but I was still surprised. Everyone I sat around was nice, kind of loud. Some dude kept talking about "Stupid Australians" so I thought that was kind of funny. People were more relaxed, and it was different to see alcoholic beverages in the section (not allowed at the student section in the Ralph). That may have "boosted the confidence", so to speak, of the fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagies Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 Except for a situation I've related elsewhere all the gopher fans around us were fine enough to be around. A few dorks on the walk out after the game but you expect that from them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 I wasn't there but I heard of some ushers being rude to UMD fans. I have never heard of an usher giving it to a spectator but you'd have to be pretty stupid because you'd get the boot in a hurry if your boss found out. What's the deal with UMD (and other schools fans) cheering for the Gophers when they play the Sioux. I watched the game with some Mankato fans (the word fans is used extremely lightly) and they were rooting for the Gophers! I have never met a fan of another team that roots for the Sioux against the Gophers. Are we really that hated?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streakygopher Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 Are we really that hated?! Nope...we're just that beloved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinnesotaNorthStar Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 The ticket guy didn't want to scan my ticket as the Minny band was doing the walk around the arena thing. They had stopped by the entrance. He said he wanted us to hear the Rouser. To which someon else replied we'd hear it enough tonight. I told him that only between periods wouldn't count as a lot. Overall, the Gopher fans behind me were great. There was some good natured back and forth between us. After the game they told me great game and see you guys next year, as I said the same. Also, the Shattuck headmaster, I think, was behind me during the play in game. There was one group that kept yelling at Brandt that they needed pulltabs, or that they wanted a $20 from Bochenski. Every 5 minutes. Of course I expected this from them as they are very very annoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chopper 1 Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 I thought the fans of both teams where great on Saturday night! The back and forth in our section was in good fun and some of the lines people threw around where priceless! I have never understood people from other schools cheering for one team or another. We had a couple clowns from St. Cloud sitting next to us who cheered for everything UND did? Finally in the third period after Grant scored a UND fan yelled down to them to start cheering for the U because they where putting there St. Cloud March curse on UND. The look on the two Husky faces where priceless, especially when they turned around and saw UND and UM fans all laughing at them together!!! I guess if you are a UMD, St. Cloud or Mankato fan you cheer for another program in the WCHA finals or NCAA so you know what it is like to win something! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfm567b27 Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 I thought the fans of both teams where great on Saturday night! The back and forth in our section was in good fun and some of the lines people threw around where priceless! I have never understood people from other schools cheering for one team or another. We had a couple clowns from St. Cloud sitting next to us who cheered for everything UND did? Finally in the third period after Grant scored a UND fan yelled down to them to start cheering for the U because they where putting there St. Cloud March curse on UND. The look on the two Husky faces where priceless, especially when they turned around and saw UND and UM fans all laughing at them together!!! I guess if you are a UMD, St. Cloud or Mankato fan you cheer for another program in the WCHA finals or NCAA so you know what it is like to win something! I agree...Never thought I would say this but credit to the home ice Gopher fans...I didn't get jeered, taunted or otherwise during the entire game. Strange as this has never happened before? Get rid of that gay M-i-n-n-e-s-o-t-a chant and I might even be capable of not "hating" the Gophers. Can't see how a grown man can stand up and feel good about themselves while waving their arm in a circular motion exclaiming yayyyyyy Gophers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaneA Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 Boy, you guys must have had some great people around you. I did not. We were sitting in the last row, lower level, behind the net where the Sioux shot twice, with some Sioux and some Gopher fans standing behind us at the rail. One of the Gopher fans yelled, "Send the Sioux back to the reservation," thus reminding me we were not in St. Cloud. After we asked some very tall Gopher fans sitting in front of us to sit during play, this same bozo told me that he couldn't see over me when I stood up to applaud the Sioux. (I'm 4'11" and he was at least 5'10") He tried to out-yell me during the "Let's go Sioux/Let's go Gophers" duels but did not succeed. I also ran into an usher that told me there was no dishonor in second place--what? the Xcel doesn't even pretend to be a NEUTRAL site? At lunch in Maplewood, the young guy in the next booth asked, "Will you be cheering for the Gophers tonight?" I responded with my standard comeback, "I wouldn't cheer for the Gophers if they were playing Al Qaeda." I was also shocked to see Gopher & Bulldog fans cheer against UND in our game with the Seawolves. What's up with that? I thought neither team considered us worthy of a rivalry. But as much as the Gopher fans got under my skin with their barbs and annoyed me with their "M-i-n-n-etc" spelling bee, their worst sin was in failing to applaud when Zach Parise arose from the ice after being high sticked by Vanek. How does any self-respecting person not applaud a player recovering from a cheap shot and getting to the bench under his own power? That's nearly as low as what I observed of Mankato fans at the Wireless last year when one of these idiots tossed a puck onto the ice in front of our net DURING PLAY. Anyone who does that has no respect for the integrity of the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MafiaMan Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 I'm glad to know SOME Sioux fans had good experiences at the X this past weekend. My entire weekend was ruined by not one or two fans, but four separate Gopher MORONS, which only increases the number of reasons why I hate everything about the U of M. I try to write it off as idiotic, drunken, non-typical fans, but four idiots making a big point to go out of their way to do something stupid was too much for me to handle in one night. I was attending the games this weekend wearing various Russian hockey jerseys, but wore my Sioux Sioux jersey for the UND semi-final and title game. I was with a Gopher friend in his jersey and a non-committed friend wearing a USA jersey on Saturday night. We've been in the same section for three years now, sitting with pretty much the same people every year. When the game ended, I exchanged pleasantries with the Gopher fans around us and wished them all good luck in the tournament. All 8-10 fans around us were courteous and wished the Sioux good luck, too. However... Idiot fan #1 Saturday night: As I'm walking to my seat before the game, a 20something wearing a Gopher jersey changes his course of direction in the concourse and darts over to me, gives me a nice unexplainable jab on the shoulder as he walks by and blurts out "f*** the Sioux" as he chuckles with his buddy about how original and witty he was. Idiot fan #2 Saturday night: After the presentation of the Broadmoor Trophy, my friends and I walked up the steps of section 102. I'm behind the two of them, and much to my astonishment, a guy in an aisle seat (this time, 40-50 years old) reaches out and puts two hands on my jersey and yanks me into his seat and yells "better luck next time a**hole! Sioux suck!". I told him to let go of me and he promptly pushed me back into the aisle. I shoved him back and got in his face to ask him what his problem was and he said "no goal my a**! F*** you." I told him that Gopher fans everywhere were a class act all the way and wished him luck in the tournament, then bolted as fast as I could before things got even worse. Idiot fan #3 Saturday night: My buddies got too far in front of me in the rush to leave so I was wandering out to an exit by myself. Yet another Gopher fan rushes to track me down. He comes up behind me, pats me on the shoulder and says "second place isn't so bad...better luck next time to your SUCK!". His girlfriend grabs him and asks him to stop it and I suggested he listen to her. He goes on to ask what my problem is and why I am taking it so personally that my team sucks. I told him it was nothing personal, but that my team's name was the Sioux, not the Suck, as he had suggested. As his girlfriend is trying to drag him away, he's asking me if I want to take it outside and go a few rounds with him 'cuz he'll knock me out. Winning with class, that's for sure. Idiot "fan" #4 Saturday night: A group of ushers stood about 20 feet from where the incident with fan #3 was going on, yet didn't bother to call security or even come over to do anything about it. Yet when I walked closer to them on my way out of the building, one usher walks over to me, holds out his hand and asks if he can shake my hand. Nice enough gesture, until he says, "Better luck next time...Sioux SUCK!". It was so comical I just laughed and said we would see what happens in the big tournament and left. I came into work yesterday still peeved about everything and mentioned to a co-worker who is dating a UND grad who was also at the game and at Cosetta's between games. She's not a Sioux fan at all, in fact, she's a Gopher fan, but her boyfriend was wearing a Sioux jersey. I was stunned to hear she'd experienced the same thing. At Cosetta's, a Gopher fan came over to her table as she was dining with her boyfriend to announce to that the Sioux sucked and the Gophers were going to kick their a**. She said other fans started coming over once they noticed the Sioux jersey and had similar comments for them. They ended up eating quickly and leaving. Their experience at the arena was the same as mine and she told me she was embarrassed to be a Gopher fan after what happened to them on Saturday. I'll say this much...I've been to games in St Cloud, Duluth, Mankato, Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan State, regionals, Final Fives, and NCAA Frozen Fours, and never have I encountered the complete classless acts that happened this past weekend. And before you start thinking that I'd downed a few beers myself so this is only half of the story, I had nothing but Coca Cola in my system this weekend. Considering that Gopher fans outnumber the Sioux fans in the X by about a 16-1 count, I keep a low-profile, which makes this all the more comical to me. I realize that it was a big game and an even bigger rivalry, but that's no excuse for what happened. I'm not trying to classify all Gopher fans, because there was one Sioux fan in the next section razzing the Gopher fans in front of him all night on Friday. At one point, I turned over to his section and told him to shut his mouth and get off my side. He actually was pretty subdued the rest of the weekend, which was a good thing. Anyways, five awesome hockey games and yet the only thing I could talk about yesterday was the conduct of the fans. I hope it's better next year. Minnesota Fans...Pride in the Stands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siouxnami Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 Well, I had a good time with fans of all teams. There was some back and forth with the Gopher fans but no damage was done. Much better experience than I had at the new Ralph (though to be fair Wayne State and Findley probably don't bring out the best in fans)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoneyLine Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 I heard the same thing from friends that went down for the weekend. They said that they wouldn't go back again. It is sad that we have to put up with the gophers getting home ice every year. They have a better record there than they do at HOME. And then they have to be jerks about it. Don't tell me it isn't an advantage. It's the WCHA that does it!!! I've heard that a hundred times, it still isn't fair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfm567b27 Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 Jesus man...you attract all the losers. Might want to hit the weight room? Just kidding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greyeagle Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 Mafia Man - You and me, next year, the X for one game at the final five. Whaddaya say? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MafiaMan Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 Greyeagle...I lost a bet with my buddy wearing the Gopher jersey so I have to WEAR his Gopher jersey for the first game of the tournament next year. Someone buy me a waffle cone and all will be forgiven! CFM...pretty funny comment about the weight room. I'm about 5'10" and 190 lbs so I'd say I can hold my own. Maybe I need to talk to BALCO, though, and bulk up a little more during the off-season? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfm567b27 Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 Greyeagle...I lost a bet with my buddy wearing the Gopher jersey so I have to WEAR his Gopher jersey for the first game of the tournament next year. Someone buy me a waffle cone and all will be forgiven! CFM...pretty funny comment about the weight room. I'm about 5'10" and 190 lbs so I'd say I can hold my own. Maybe I need to talk to BALCO, though, and bulk up a little more during the off-season? haha..Good idea..I did type that as tongue in cheek humor. I think you took it that way I hope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MafiaMan Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 CFM, I laughed out loud when I read your comment. Pretty funny stuff. Tongue in cheeck humor it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airmail Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 We didn't go to the Final Five this year, but in years past, we've always had fun visiting with fans from other schools. My wife and I have drank beer and eaten nachos with fans from, MSU, UMD, SCSU, CC, DU, and yes... even UW. But never with gopher fans. Not that I wouldn't like to, but none seem to want to join us... even when the offer is extended. Strange people, gopher fans. Oh well. (although I had lots of fun with the gopher parents President's weekend in Duluth. Nice people to visit with. Koalska's dad is a hoot.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greyeagle Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 Greyeagle...I lost a bet with my buddy wearing the Gopher jersey so I have to WEAR his Gopher jersey for the first game of the tournament next year. Someone buy me a waffle cone and all will be forgiven! They you shouldn't have any problems. I hate dinks - and it sounds like you met some classic dinks. I just don't get the whole "act like a puke bit" some people have to exhibit. On Friday my tickets (I bought them from a buddy of dagies, sect. 204) were behind a large group of Sioux fans with two Gopher fans between them (the smart ones of the group . These guys were great to yack back and forth with and we had a good 'ole time. I also ran into some Sioux fans at O'Gara's Saturday night and kidded with them some.....but also wished them luck before I left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radionews Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 I sat by a U of M student who had a maroon wig and maroon and gold face paint on when the Goofs were playing and had a nice chat with him along with some good natured ribbing back and forth. Had fun talking with him about his team and he seemed to enjoy learning more about the Sioux. Talked with many Goof fans while walking to the games or at the bar after the games and while they like their team, like I like the SIoux, they also loved good college hockey and likes to talk about! Did have many people yell "Sioux Suck" (really original) all weekend but we would just laugh it off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greyeagle Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 (although I had lots of fun with the gopher parents President's weekend in Duluth. Nice people to visit with. Koalska's dad is a hoot.) Koalska's dad (and brothers too) is the greatest. I've been able to speak with him several times. Through a family connection Bernie was able to get Matt to get my son a mini-hockey stick signed by the entire 2002 Gopher team and for that Matt will always have special place for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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