RIT/Army incident

[Wholin1]

Re: RIT/Army incident

This is a bit off track but I had an interesting experience to relate regarding Army hockey. I went on the USMA athletics website to purchase tickets for Union's game there just after New Year's. I enjoyed my first visit to the Academy in several decades and was only disappointed that due to darkness I could not take in any of the sights. The atmosphere was definitely fan and family friendly though they did confiscate some food I brought with me on my way in, not a big deal, I can always do without a few calories.

Anyway a week or so ago I received an e-mail from Army athletics warning me in a friendly way not to interfere with or take affirmative action in the athlete recruiting process as it could be a violation of NCAA regulations. I was kind of stunned by this as I'd never seen anything like it before, and of course it wasn't on my radar. In some ways, I see the fan apology to be in the same vein. Maybe this athletic department is just cut from a different cloth.

[TimV]

Re: RIT/Army incident

Anyway a week or so ago I received an e-mail from Army athletics warning me in a friendly way not to interfere with or take affirmative action in the athlete recruiting process.

Easy one. They don't want Union to steal their recruits.

[FireKnight]

Re: RIT/Army incident

I got the same email Wholin, though I thought it was only sent out to the Army "A Club". I'm a member of the A Club as I hold season tickets for football. I know that several schools send out an annual (or periodic) email to their athletic boosters regarding NCAA regulations. I'm surprised you got one just for purchasing a ticket to a single game though.

[huskyfan]

Re: RIT/Army incident

we've found the atmosphere at the Air Force Academy games to be very family friendly. yelling "you suck" isn't done. we tried the "who cares" at the opponents intros and got dirty looks. its different from what we are used to at Michigan Tech, but, yes, the cadets are held to much different standards.

[Tom Naeger]

Re: RIT/Army incident

I'm surprised as a high school baseball official that you would let this kind of activity go. I know in Section IX we try to limit profanity as best we can but we expect some of it amongst the players on the bench or under their breath to themselves. If there is ever any profanity directed to the other team, the officials, or the fans, the offenders are immediately ejected. Having umpired at state tournament levels, I know not every part of the state is quite so strict.

I think any good high school official know that this can be a grey area sometimes, and black and white at other times. I need to be careful cause what I say can reflect against my organization. There are times for warning and times for ejections. There are even more times for common sense. I know many officials in High School who have looked the other way if there was a profanity said in frustration of how they play. The old unwritten baseball rule has been minor profanity can be over looked, but if they put you or another player before or after a profanity they are going to get run.

Some Organizations, maybe even some in my own would disagree with me and that is fine. I have always decide to try to be a common sense official, I played long time, I know what it is like, I know when someone is showing me up, and that when they will get run. If they respect me, they will get a good long time to talk with me about anything...

[Tom Naeger]

Re: RIT/Army incident

It appears GoArmySports has taken down the link to the Apology Letter. You can still type in the direct link and search it out, but a link to the letter on GoArmySports is nowhere to be seen...

[mookie1995]

Re: RIT/Army incident

I think any good high school official know that this can be a grey area sometimes, and black and white at other times. I need to be careful cause what I say can reflect against my organization. There are times for warning and times for ejections. There are even more times for common sense. I know many officials in High School who have looked the other way if there was a profanity said in frustration of how they play. The old unwritten baseball rule has been minor profanity can be over looked, but if they put you or another player before or after a profanity they are going to get run....

that was a cocksucking call.

did you just call me a **********?

no, i said that was a cocksucking call.

did you just call me a **********?

is that what you want? do you want me to call you a **********?

say it?

do you?

say it?

do you?

say it?

[R Habs]

Re: RIT/Army incident

Thats one thing I was dissapointed in was the lack of Cadets at the game. Was like trying to find Waldo all most. My Girlfriend asked me if they keep the kids so busy they that they do not have time to come to the game.

As it was Presidents Day weekend most of the cadets had a 4-day pass and were not on campus.

[AFHockeyFan]

Re: RIT/Army incident

PLEASE let these two teams meet in the playoffs. We'll gladly take whoever survives/is still eligible at Blue Cross.

P.S. Most soldiers I've met curse like mother****ers.

[Red Cloud]

Re: RIT/Army incident

P.S. Most soldiers I've met curse like mother****ers.

Soldiers, yes. Cadets are held to a pretty high standard, though.

[AFHockeyFan]

Re: RIT/Army incident

Soldiers, yes. Cadets are held to a pretty high standard, though.

Really? You should hear the Air Force post-sweep chant. Granted, it's not for public consumption.

[Red Cloud]

Re: RIT/Army incident

Really? You should hear the Air Force post-sweep chant. Granted, it's not for public consumption.

I wasn't talking about the Chair Force "cadets."

[yarblockers]

Re: RIT/Army incident

At least one will be happy to know that I am tired of mocking the manufactured enthusiasm that's a part of the most overrated annual college hockey "event" - the Big Red Freakout. I usually make fun of it in my column each season, but it's getting old. RIT and dozens of other schools have this every week. It's known as "fans getting excited at a hockey game".

I'll still mock it on the radio, though.

Taken from RIT Athletics website: "The Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is sponsoring a “white out” at the Men’s hockey game on Saturday, February 20 against Air Force. SAAC will be giving away white t-shirts to everyone coming to the game in order to create a “white out” in the crowd." Keep telling yourself that you are above promotional events.

PS - RPI fans get excited and create a great atmosphere at every game, not just the Freakout. The Freakout just brings it to a new level. We're not talking about Union here.

[kbranch]

Re: RIT/Army incident

Taken from RIT Athletics website: "The Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is sponsoring a “white out” at the Men’s hockey game on Saturday, February 20 against Air Force. SAAC will be giving away white t-shirts to everyone coming to the game in order to create a “white out” in the crowd." Keep telling yourself that you are above promotional events.

PS - RPI fans get excited and create a great atmosphere at every game, not just the Freakout. The Freakout just brings it to a new level. We're not talking about Union here.

RIT is not above promotional events - we do them often. Most notably 'Make the Rink Pink', raising $21,000 to fight cancer. But promotions aren't the reason people come to the games and we don't need promotions to get people excited about hockey at the Ritter.

[Humanoid]

Re: RIT/Army incident

I was able to catch the Army games at home against Bentley this year, and I'll be the first to admit that Army is a tremendous program with some great people. I got to talk to Coach Wilson before both games, and he is a genuinely nice person. It was a great weekend of hockey, and the fandom for both Bentley and Army were fantastic.

To the man who said that Army is apologizing for the Vietnam War - this is not the forum and your comments are not appreciated. That, to me, is a slap in the face of all the men and women who gave their souls overseas in that conflict and the following conflicts. And you're the only one I'm singling out on this because that is totally uncalled for, and you have no right to say something like that.

I haven't been to Tate Rink, but the hospitality of the Black Knight staff has put that on my list of road trips in the coming years. Their staff were great to work with at Bentley, and I echo the sentiment that this is because of the rigors and discipline the team has to live with at the Academy. We have some pretty solid goons on Bentley's team, but the weekend was just a great weekend of hockey and enjoyable for everyone.

That said, I think this is a growing concern among fans at hockey games. I took in the Bentley-Holy Cross games this weekend at both the JAR and out at the Hart Center. Bentley is notorious for not having a great following, but their fans sit well out of earshot of other fans and do not cause a terrible ruckus. In 2 years associated with Bentley, I haven't heard many expletives thrown out onto the ice singling out players in that manner, and we've had some pretty bad blood bath games against teams like Canisius.

Holy Cross was another thing. Their students were unpoliced, leaning over the boards and shouting verbal attacks at the Bentley players (parents - hockey parents at that - even said that some of it crossed lines). They made it a point to stand right next to the Bentley bench and yell at the team, in front of Bentley fans, students, and players. I was appalled, and I made mention after the game to nobody in particular that it was classless. There's a fine line between being a fan chanting "Sieve" or "It's All Your Fault" or even "BC sucks!" (at a BU Terrier game) or any of the standard hockey chants and whatever it was that was shouted at RIT and at Holy Cross. There's no place for that in sports.