YaneA Posted March 17, 2003 Share Posted March 17, 2003 I wanted to start a thread in praise of this weekend's crowds at the Ralph. Although not a sell-out, I was so impressed with the fans Saturday and Sunday night. First time I've ever seen the crowd so into the game all game long. Got to give the "Seventh Man Award" to the student section. Even with a lot of students off on spring break, the student section was alive and kickin'. Loved the posters in the crowd eluding to Denver's Bronco-style tackling and rodeo-flavored ropin' & rasslin'. And those newspaper cutouts of Shepherd's sheep posted on the penalty box glass were priceless! I think the seniors will have great memories of their last home games at the Ralph. Now, let's go neuter them Dogs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinnesotaNorthStar Posted March 17, 2003 Share Posted March 17, 2003 I wanted to start a thread in praise of this weekend's crowds at the Ralph. Although not a sell-out, I was so impressed with the fans Saturday and Sunday night. First time I've ever seen the crowd so into the game all game long. Got to give the "Seventh Man Award" to the student section. Even with a lot of students off on spring break, the student section was alive and kickin'. Loved the posters in the crowd eluding to Denver's Bronco-style tackling and rodeo-flavored ropin' & rasslin'. And those newspaper cutouts of Shepherd's sheep posted on the penalty box glass were priceless! I think the seniors will have great memories of their last home games at the Ralph. Now, let's go neuter them Dogs! Glad to see that the students who were in our seats represented without flatspin and myself there...any chance someone got pictures of the posters??? See ya at the Final Five!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprig Posted March 17, 2003 Share Posted March 17, 2003 Very loud crowd, sounded great, but about 4-5 minutes behind the live action. Or was that my internet feed I heard you four minutes after you said something, though. Sounds travels slowly to western ND Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaneA Posted March 17, 2003 Author Share Posted March 17, 2003 Maybe PCM recorded the posters for posterity. If not, the ones I saw said something like, "News Update: DU Hockey to lead Broncos' tackling practice" and "DU: This is hockey, not rodeo." They were great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BostonSiouxFan Posted March 17, 2003 Share Posted March 17, 2003 YaneA, I agree that the fans as a whole were great Saturday and Sunday, but I would take exception to your comments about awarding the "Seventh Man Award" to the student section. As a recent UND alum (who was back home for the games this weekend), I think that the students embarrassed the university with their cheers. I'm all for cheering for your team, and against the other team, but chants throughout the game that consist of chanting a players name twice followed by an emphatic "SUCKS SH*T" is poor form. Additionally, the "Who's he, he sucks sh*t" chants as the opposing players are announced is also pretty low class. UND is a great school with a great hockey tradition, but when I listen to the moronic things that come from the student section, I'm embarrassed for them. And as much as it pains me to say, I've been to games at Mariucci, and the conduct of their student section is much better than that of UND. Anyway, I just thought I'd add my two cents. Go Sioux, and hopefully they'll be seeded in the East Region when the tournament starts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaneA Posted March 17, 2003 Author Share Posted March 17, 2003 BostonSiouxfan--you have now opened the proverbial can of baked beans. The topic of student profanity has been debated here and elsewhere time and time again. I don't approve of the chants you mentioned not because my virgin ears are offended or even because there are young kids in the stands. I think they're weak because they haven't got any real punch or pizzazz to them. I wanted to acknowledge some creative, humorous things I observed the student section do this weekend and encourage them to do more in hopes that they'd rely less on the knee-jerk "sucks sh*t" line of abuse. If I were a student, after each opposing player was introduced, I'd yell, "Who's he? a fine fellow I'm sure," just to be different. And after our team was introduced, I'd yell, in the same cadence as that diamond commerical: "I....love...this....team. I love 'em, I love 'em, I love 'em!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diggler Posted March 17, 2003 Share Posted March 17, 2003 I'm not gonna argue about the whole swearing thing again, cause it is pointless. However I felt that the students were much more postive, with much less swearing then usual this weekend. Other than yelling at Shepard for his strange interpretations of hockey and yelling at Dora the Explorer, there wasn't too much swearing. Especially last night in the 3rd and overtime. I don't remember one cheer that contained swearing in OT. If it weren't for the students, swearing or not, it wouldn't have been close to as loud this weekend. The students are who often started up and kept it loud. We were missing about half the normal students and we were still able to be just as loud. I'll give other people credit though, it was great this weekend on Saturday and Sunday because almost everybody was into the game. It'd be nice if it could always be that crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillySioux Posted March 17, 2003 Share Posted March 17, 2003 Boston SiouxFan, I must concur. This has bothered me for quite some time. I don't know quite when it started and I dont know how to put an end to it. But, the unclever chants filled with s-bombs directed at individual players really reflects poorly on UND and all our fans. What really bothers me is that I really haven't seen this anywhere else at the collegiate level. I've been to Hockey East games, ECAC games, Atlantic 10 basketball games, Big East basketball and football games and NCAA Div. 1 basketball regionals. Not once did I hear similar chants. Granted, thats a small sample but why the difference? Any Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDM Posted March 17, 2003 Share Posted March 17, 2003 I've heard the idea brought up before and I really liked it so I'll revive it. Scott Hennen: Starting at (insert position) for (insert opponent), number (insert number), (insert opponent's name). Crowd: Non-factor! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Commodore Posted March 17, 2003 Share Posted March 17, 2003 Although this may be beating a dead horse, I have to say that the "who's he, he sucks s***" chant is not unique to UND. And to suggest that the fans at Mariucci don't use profanities in their cheers is completely incorrect. There's one repeated chant done at Mariucci--though I couldn't make out the first few words--that ends with "...you f***ing piece of s***!" Every time I've been to games at Mariucci they've done that chant. The profanity happens everywhere, and while I'm not encouraging it (I too, lament the lack of originality more than the profanity itself), to infer that this is only done at UND is wrong. If you think UND's chants are bad, try wearing a Sioux jersey to the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaneA Posted March 17, 2003 Author Share Posted March 17, 2003 GDM: That would be a great crowd response to the opposing lineup! Students, are you so committed to "who's he? he sucks sh*t" that you wouldn't drop the chant for something better? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagies Posted March 17, 2003 Share Posted March 17, 2003 It's everywhere. Not just UND. Frankly "back in my day" we just said who'e he he s---s. That was good enough and frankly more rhythmic. I'm not a fan of cussing. Now that I've got a kid it's easier for me to grasp. But the biggest thing IMO, isn't what is being said, it's all about can it be yelled/chanted in a group in an intelligible way. As long as you are making noise it doesn't matter a whole lot. That said, a little creativity is fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diggler Posted March 17, 2003 Share Posted March 17, 2003 It used to be terrible to say "who's he, he sucks". That had to make some people lose respect for the students 20 years ago. Now it rather acceptable to most people to say this. Saying sh*t though is unacceptable to many people. No matter what, students are always going to do and say things that are unacceptable to others. If everyone always got along and agreed, it would be terrible! On one hand the students think the cheers are fine so they often figure why change them? Non-students are the ones that don't like the cheers. Why should students think up cheers so these other people who don't cheer anyways will be happy? On the other hand, if the students want the other people to cheer along, not swearing would defineatley help. The problem is that it seems many times when the students do things that don't involve swearing, there doesn't seem to be much of a response. So if nobody is gonna cheer along whether the students swear or not, why bother trying? This weekend seemed like a nice exception though as everybody was into the games and like I said I don't think we did nearly as much swearing cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatspin7 Posted March 17, 2003 Share Posted March 17, 2003 OK....I tend to take exception to all the student bashing going on at hockey games. The students make that arena what it is. If it werent for the students the place would be as quiet as a movie theater showing a Charlie Chaplin movie. I think something odd happens to people when they graduate college, they forget all the crazy $h!t that went on when they were still in school. And they forget that they did the same things that those before them did, and thats what goes on now... People were saying "Who's he, he sucks poop" long before I ever got to UND. Think about that Philly and Boston. I have been going to UND for the last 4 hockey seasons and I have seen 2 seasons in the old ralph and the new "improved" ralph. I have seen things that stuck me as both intimidating and entertaining. I have seen couchs set on fire (outside the old ralph- 2000/2001 season- Saturday game vs the dirty gophers) and dead gophers being tossed on to the ice. I know that sounds pretty bad, but I heard stories of dead badgers (you heard that right BADGERS) being hung from the rafters of the old ralph and swung over the ice, NOW THATS CREATIVE!!! Kinda makes us look like rookies. I also tend to hear a lot of complaints from parents who think it is a good idea to buy tickets for a Sioux Hockey game for their 10 year old son, they always forget that the child will be sitting in the student section around a bunch of rowdy and possibly semi-inebreated college students. Its funny in the old building I never once saw any small children in the student section. The folks at the Ralph have done many things to silence the student section, they have moved many students to the upper deck and they are now going to take the lower deck seats behind the penalty boxes and move them to one of the corners behind the net, further splitting up the students. You all forget that those players on the ice are STUDENTS at UND and that is our team, our tuition pays for those scholarships. I apologize to the Sioux fans who remember what it was like to be a student but many have forgetten whats its like to be a student. When we moved over to the new arena capicity was doubled that meant that half of the building had not had sioux tickets for years if at all. Maybe they had forgotten what college hockey is all about. If you don't like the atmosphere at the games I suggest that you stay home and watch the game on TV or over the internet. Each attempt to control or silence the students only makes them angrier and louder. Maybe we should just be left alone and a little common sence should be used, if you dont like the way the students act, get tickets somewhere else, or stay home. Oh yeah.... I do remeber the fact that the students used to like to stand for the whole game, and we were asked to stop due to other peoples inability so see. OK after a little controversy the students are now sitting for most of the game with the exception of power plays and other critical times. Even now I hear people yelling at us to sit down, and my responce during those times is "Why are you not standing" Hopefully you are there to support the team so just remember its OK to vocalize that. If you dont want the swear--dont, and maybe things will change over time but as for now its what it is so live with it. ---Northstar would agree with me too--- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sicatoka Posted March 17, 2003 Share Posted March 17, 2003 .... NOW THATS CREATIVE!!! Kinda makes us look like rookies. As long as you admit it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatspin7 Posted March 17, 2003 Share Posted March 17, 2003 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprig Posted March 17, 2003 Share Posted March 17, 2003 The adults vs. students debate has raged on forever, and always will. I don't want to remember the things I did as a student, but, unfortunately, I remember too many. The only consolation is that, the current students, will soon become adults and in a short time will be arguing with their own kids. What goes around comes around. Wish the seating that a non-season ticket holder buys were not in the student section, since it's not the best place to put young kids. But, they'll hear it sooner or later anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatspin7 Posted March 17, 2003 Share Posted March 17, 2003 Wish the seating that a non-season ticket holder buys were not in the student section, since it's not the best place to put young kids. But, they'll hear it sooner or later anyway. And I dont mind if they hear it from us, but their parents do, and instead of not putting the kids in that situation they try to modifiy the 2000 students around them. Sorry guys it ain't happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sicatoka Posted March 17, 2003 Share Posted March 17, 2003 I never understood how standing for a whole game makes you a "better" fan. I'll save you from the "back in the day" stories and just say it's fun to watch a lot of those standing fans on cell phones or scoping the crowd for a date later. The place was wide open rockin' this weekend. That's with empty student sections in the upper deck. Yes, empty. (Yes, it's spring break.) The noise was coming from the non-student areas. Those "old fogey season ticket holders" can shake some window panes. There are those of us working to get the new fans up to speed. But a lot of new fans are put off by some of the other stuff. (You know what I'm talking about.) Meet us even part way and that place will be complete bedlam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diggler Posted March 17, 2003 Share Posted March 17, 2003 The meeting part way thing could have happened last year when we had all those meetings about what to do. The problem was that no one besides students showed up. When people want change but are unwilling to show up to discuss how to change, it is very frustrating. As our beloved current student body president brought up last year, you can physically make more noise from a standing position than from a sitting postion. More seriously though we were told we can stand up in "important situations". This whole weekend was an important situation, especially the OT's. I stood up the entire weekend because I have never been into a game as much as I was on Saturday and Sunday. Those doorknobs who are on their cellphones and read their textbooks should be whacked upside the head. They are no better then the hand sitters. In fact they are worse. At least the hand sitters don't pretend to care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagies Posted March 17, 2003 Share Posted March 17, 2003 I don't know what it is about standing up but when I'm at a game I am more physically into the game, more vocal, when I am standing. Don't exactly know how to explain it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
U2Bad1 Posted March 17, 2003 Share Posted March 17, 2003 I think the reason why the ralph was rockin so hard was this weekend was because the only people who attended the playoff games were the "REAL" fans instead of those there just for social reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
U2Bad1 Posted March 17, 2003 Share Posted March 17, 2003 no, i wasnt there but i had good reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sicatoka Posted March 17, 2003 Share Posted March 17, 2003 Yeah, but 10674 (minus the already standing students) jumping out of their seats at 18:56 of OT last night had to look pretty intimidating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sicatoka Posted March 17, 2003 Share Posted March 17, 2003 ... those there just for social reasons. Those are the types I'm trying to fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.