Wisconsin Hockey 2018-2019: We can have a witty thread title when we start winning

[gwhinwi]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2018-2019: We can have a witty thread title when we start winnin

I wonder who he will start in goal against the U18.

Blomquist would be my guess.

[MadCityRich]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2018-2019: We can have a witty thread title when we start winnin

Poor Derek Stepan.

I was watching the 'yotes/Rangers the other night. He hasn't been playing for that horrible product in the desert for 2 years and he's already losing his "flow".

[Bonin21]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2018-2019: We can have a witty thread title when we start winnin

The Big Ten did ruin college hockey to a point that I'm not sure it'll ever recover to what it was.

Lost the Final Five, lost easy road trips to hostile environment away games, lost the conference games against teams filled with players that you watched in HS that you wished your team would get.

People are saying a new generation of fans need to replace those lost. Unfortunately, in MN at least, those generations are all in on the Wild.

[Timothy A]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2018-2019: We can have a witty thread title when we start winnin

Blomquist would be my guess.

TG did say in his weekly press conference they want to gain positive momentum out of this game, I could see the Hammer or Berry playing.

[sunprairie]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2018-2019: We can have a witty thread title when we start winnin

Any one who was at the Kohl Center during the two years leading to the Big "Ten" transition had to know that it wasn't going to be well received by the fan base. From the moment they started running the "Big 10 is coming" ad on the jumbotron, the fans in the arena erupted in sustained boos. Fans might have already frustrated with the product on the ice, but at least it was still our product, and our rivalry games. When Barry stepped in and assumed that hockey fans wouldn't mind losing decades of rivalries that we got amped up for, while also assuming that we'd be just as excited over games against football rivalries was a kick in the teeth. Everything about the rollout ignored and dismissed all the traditions of college hockey in Wisconsin - there was even an infamous TV announcement spot that featured a number of Big 10 "personalities," football and basketball coaches, Barry included, and ironically not a single hockey-related person, all sporting fake-missing front teeth, you know because that's all hockey is known for. Then, roll in BTN, which had promised more hockey coverage, but instead actually severely limited hockey TV coverage, even in the last few years of the WCHA.

Pair all that with the downward slide in performance and the attendance trend at the KC is not surprising. I've also questioned whether it was the final two Eaves years or B1G that was a bigger part of this, but seeing that Minnesota saw similar attendance slides (a true anomaly) let's me be pretty sure that B1G was a much bigger mistake than anyone thought it would be. Is PSU a good hockey team? Sure, but that doesn't make a fan base who looked forward to rivalry series with ND, St. Cloud, Tech, Denver, etc. each year excited to see them. This wasn't just re-alignment. It was ignorance of the hockey fan base as a cash grab from the AD's office. And, it has played out to the results we have seen. (If that wasn't the case, the first two Big 10 tournaments wouldn't have been in empty arenas...)

I think I'm saddest about the effect it has had on the student section. Hockey is a generational sport that needs upper classes training younger classes about those traditions. I am afraid that when the WCHA-trained older students left the building with disinterest in the new B1G, we lost a couple years of that training and long-standing Badger Hockey student pride that will take decades to rebuild. A real shame...

[solovsfett]

Any one who was at the Kohl Center during the two years leading to the Big "Ten" transition had to know that it wasn't going to be well received by the fan base. From the moment they started running the "Big 10 is coming" ad on the jumbotron, the fans in the arena erupted in sustained boos. Fans might have already frustrated with the product on the ice, but at least it was still our product, and our rivalry games. When Barry stepped in and assumed that hockey fans wouldn't mind losing decades of rivalries that we got amped up for, while also assuming that we'd be just as excited over games against football rivalries was a kick in the teeth. Everything about the rollout ignored and dismissed all the traditions of college hockey in Wisconsin - there was even an infamous TV announcement spot that featured a number of Big 10 "personalities," football and basketball coaches, Barry included, and ironically not a single hockey-related person, all sporting fake-missing front teeth, you know because that's all hockey is known for. Then, roll in BTN, which had promised more hockey coverage, but instead actually severely limited hockey TV coverage, even in the last few years of the WCHA.

Pair all that with the downward slide in performance and the attendance trend at the KC is not surprising. I've also questioned whether it was the final two Eaves years or B1G that was a bigger part of this, but seeing that Minnesota saw similar attendance slides (a true anomaly) let's me be pretty sure that B1G was a much bigger mistake than anyone thought it would be. Is PSU a good hockey team? Sure, but that doesn't make a fan base who looked forward to rivalry series with ND, St. Cloud, Tech, Denver, etc. each year excited to see them. This wasn't just re-alignment. It was ignorance of the hockey fan base as a cash grab from the AD's office. And, it has played out to the results we have seen. (If that wasn't the case, the first two Big 10 tournaments wouldn't have been in empty arenas...)

I think I'm saddest about the effect it has had on the student section. Hockey is a generational sport that needs upper classes training younger classes about those traditions. I am afraid that when the WCHA-trained older students left the building with disinterest in the new B1G, we lost a couple years of that training and long-standing Badger Hockey student pride that will take decades to rebuild. A real shame...

Agreed, 100%. I still don’t know anyone excited to see PSU, tOSU, MSU, or even Michigan for that matter. Notre Dame? A bit of interest due to their having a loose affiliation in a mythical B10 decades ago.

[Bonin21]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2018-2019: We can have a witty thread title when we start winnin

Here's a ranking from this Gopher fan's perspective. Wonder if yours is similar. WCHA vs. Big Ten

Home Opponents:
Tier 1: UND, uw, UMD, SCSU vs. uw
Tier 2: DU, Mankato vs. Notre Dame
Tier 3: Omaha, Bemidji vs. Michigan
Tier 4: MTU, CC vs. PSU, OSU (this is the edge of who cares territory)
Tier No One Cares: MSU, AKA

Road/Day Trip Opportunities
WCHA: UMD, SCSU, Mankato, uw, UND, Bemidji
Weekend trips: DU, MTU, CC

Big Ten: uw
Weekend trips: Notre Dame, for the rest who cares except MAYBE to see Yost

[sunprairie]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2018-2019: We can have a witty thread title when we start winnin

Agreed, 100%. I still don’t know anyone excited to see PSU, tOSU, MSU, or even Michigan for that matter. Notre Dame? A bit of interest due to their having a loose affiliation in a mythical B10 decades ago.

I went back and found the ad I referenced. It gives me even bigger chills now... And not the good kind... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuV2H6sSC9c

[KaMiGo]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2018-2019: We can have a witty thread title when we start winnin

Any one who was at the Kohl Center during the two years leading to the Big "Ten" transition had to know that it wasn't going to be well received by the fan base. From the moment they started running the "Big 10 is coming" ad on the jumbotron, the fans in the arena erupted in sustained boos. Fans might have already frustrated with the product on the ice, but at least it was still our product, and our rivalry games. When Barry stepped in and assumed that hockey fans wouldn't mind losing decades of rivalries that we got amped up for, while also assuming that we'd be just as excited over games against football rivalries was a kick in the teeth. Everything about the rollout ignored and dismissed all the traditions of college hockey in Wisconsin - there was even an infamous TV announcement spot that featured a number of Big 10 "personalities," football and basketball coaches, Barry included, and ironically not a single hockey-related person, all sporting fake-missing front teeth, you know because that's all hockey is known for. Then, roll in BTN, which had promised more hockey coverage, but instead actually severely limited hockey TV coverage, even in the last few years of the WCHA.

Pair all that with the downward slide in performance and the attendance trend at the KC is not surprising. I've also questioned whether it was the final two Eaves years or B1G that was a bigger part of this, but seeing that Minnesota saw similar attendance slides (a true anomaly) let's me be pretty sure that B1G was a much bigger mistake than anyone thought it would be. Is PSU a good hockey team? Sure, but that doesn't make a fan base who looked forward to rivalry series with ND, St. Cloud, Tech, Denver, etc. each year excited to see them. This wasn't just re-alignment. It was ignorance of the hockey fan base as a cash grab from the AD's office. And, it has played out to the results we have seen. (If that wasn't the case, the first two Big 10 tournaments wouldn't have been in empty arenas...)

I think I'm saddest about the effect it has had on the student section. Hockey is a generational sport that needs upper classes training younger classes about those traditions. I am afraid that when the WCHA-trained older students left the building with disinterest in the new B1G, we lost a couple years of that training and long-standing Badger Hockey student pride that will take decades to rebuild. A real shame...

I think there is a tendency of the "super fans" to see things only from their perspective with an active disinterest in looking at other perspectives.

Sure, there are a lot of people who miss the games against the old WCHA teams. You pine for the games against NoDak, SCSU, MTU, DU...those are the names that mean something to you. Keep in mind that 3 of those teams were in the WCHA for almost 20 years before UW joined. And on the other end of that were teams like SCSU that didn't join until 20 years after UW did. I'm sure there was plenty of hand-wringing when those changes happened too.

Outside of the bubble, there are people who have no idea that there is a "University of Denver" or a "Saint Cloud State University", but they sure know "Ohio State University" and "University of Michigan".

I get a 4 pack of tickets for Friday and Saturday games. 1 for me, 1 for my wife, 2 get split up between a few people I work with.
At the beginning on the year when I had the fresh sheets of tickets and was working with the other 2 guys about which games they wanted, people would watch us arguing over "You had Minnesota last year, I get them this yer" and "I'll give you Denver if I can have North Dakota". The casual passerby didn't recognize many (if any) of the non-conference opponents, but they recognized all of the conference teams.

The WCHA as it was is no more. You can blame Alvarez, you can blame Pegula, you can blame anyone you want to...but it is just shouting into the wind at this point. The change has happened and nothing short of an act of Congress is going to change that.

So **** and moan all you want, there are lots of people on this board who will join you in that.
see Exhibit A

Agreed, 100%. I still don’t know anyone excited to see PSU, tOSU, MSU, or even Michigan for that matter. Notre Dame? A bit of interest due to their having a loose affiliation in a mythical B10 decades ago.

Just please realize that the vast majority of fans exist outside of this super-fandom. They don't go to message boards or keep track of recruits or have any idea if the a forward is correctly rotating to cover for a D man bringing the puck in past the dots, but they are perfectly comfortable knowing that UW is in the B1G and that there are other teams in the B1G which play hockey. They know that UW = Good, Michigan/Michigan State/Ohio State/Penn State/Notre Dame = bad, Minnesota = really bad and that is good enough for them.

[Bonin21]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2018-2019: We can have a witty thread title when we start winnin

Just please realize that the vast majority of fans exist outside of this super-fandom. They don't go to message boards or keep track of recruits or have any idea if the a forward is correctly rotating to cover for a D man bringing the puck in past the dots, but they are perfectly comfortable knowing that UW is in the B1G and that there are other teams in the B1G which play hockey. They know that UW = Good, Michigan/Michigan State/Ohio State/Penn State/Notre Dame = bad, Minnesota = really bad and that is good enough for them.

College hockey is a niche sport and you need to realize these "superfans" make up a huge chunk of the fans...

[MadCityRich]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2018-2019: We can have a witty thread title when we start winnin

BTHC sucks ***. I STILL don't get fired up about watching us against the old CCHA teams. I honestly think the BTHC hurt MN and WI, and helped the CCHA schools.

I was fired up against Denver and NoDak this year and they're non-conference. I would not hesitate to go to the U.P., MSP, Duluth, Greater Grand, etc, but I have NO desire to go on a roadie to the east.

If all the "old" WCHA schools got together and somehow started it up again (it will never happen) it would be awesome.

Bonin = Truth

[Timothy A]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2018-2019: We can have a witty thread title when we start winnin

My parents anniversary dinner got postponed! Yeah! I scored 2 tickets to the game Saturday. My daughter and I have a whole section to ourselves at this point.

[MadCityRich]

My parents anniversary dinner got postponed! Yeah! I scored 2 tickets to the game Saturday. My daughter and I have a whole section to ourselves at this point.

Putting hockey over your parents anniversary celly?

My man!

[WiscTJK]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2018-2019: We can have a witty thread title when we start winnin

I miss the WCHA, but it ain't coming back. It would be wise for TG to schedule as many old WCHA teams as possible for N/C opponents. I still proudly wear my WCHA Wisconsin jersey and refuse to buy a Big7 jersey.

[WiscTJK]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2018-2019: We can have a witty thread title when we start winnin

Outside of the bubble, there are people who have no idea that there is a "University of Denver" or a "Saint Cloud State University", but they sure know "Ohio State University" and "University of Michigan".

Just please realize that the vast majority of fans exist outside of this super-fandom. They don't go to message boards or keep track of recruits or have any idea if the a forward is correctly rotating to cover for a D man bringing the puck in past the dots, but they are perfectly comfortable knowing that UW is in the B1G and that there are other teams in the B1G which play hockey. They know that UW = Good, Michigan/Michigan State/Ohio State/Penn State/Notre Dame = bad, Minnesota = really bad and that is good enough for them.

I can't quote your entire post as it is huge, but where are all these "fans" you crow about? They aren't coming to watch "Big 7" Hockey as the Kohl Center is empty....... So p!ss off your best fan base (you call superfans), and don't replace them as your "fans that recognize OSU and Mich" don't come. Combine that with a poor team and magically you have an empty KC. That's a great marketing plan!