If I have got it right, the last time Minnesota made it to the finals was in 2014. The tournament was at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. There Minnesota faced another upstart ECAC team. The four teams (and their student populations) in the tournament that year were Boston College (14,000), North Dakota (14,000), Minnesota (51,000) and Union College (2,000). Two years earlier, Union had made the tournament but lost in the semifinals. The previous year Union lost in the second round of the Regionals. The Wells Fargo Center in Philidelphia back then seated about 20,000.
Union emptied out its 2000-student campus, but that palled in comparison to the vast number of fans from BC, Minnesota and especially North Dakota. BC showed up with its band. Minnesota showed up with hoards of fans, but it was North Dakto that impressed me the most. North Dakota showed up with what felt like most of the State of North Dakota (and some drop-dead absolutely beautiful cheerleaders). The North Dakota Fans were all wearing their "Fighting Souix" green-hockey jerseys. Sitting together, it made for what appeared to be a sea of green.
In the semi's the media was all over our coach, asking him how he could possibly expect to play in the same rink as BC and stop the great BC top line. (I think this was the "Johnny Gaudreau" line). He responded that in the ECAC, the Dutchmen had faced many excellent scoring lines, and he was not worried.
In the first round, we got by BC, and Minnesota defeated North Dakota by a goal in the closing seconds. North Dakota fans were in severe pain.
A BC fan came over to me after the BC game and asked where he could buy a Union sweatshirt. I pointed him to a concession selling paraphernalia for all four teams. I asked him why, and he said that he was going to cheer for Union against Minnesota. "Just one thing," he said in a low, angry, demanding voice ... "beat Minnesota." The BC fans seem to dislike Minnesota, especially since they suffered a 6-1 defeat from them earlier in the year.
Against our game with Minnesota, the North Dakota Fans again showed up in force. The sea of Green occupied what felt like a quarter of the seats. A wave of green stood cheering as we took the ice along with fans from BC and Union. Even the announcers noticed and commented.
After every goal we scored, the Wells Fargo center shook and erupted in cheers. It was clear that many BC and North Dakota Fans disliked Minnesota intensly. You could hear the North Dakota fans go crazy every time we scored and especially as we pulled ahead. They we jumping up and down, hugging each other.
I will never again, I am sure, experience 14,000+ rabid fans cheering their guts out for us at a hockey game. I know they were not cheering for us as much as they were cheering against Minnesota, but it sure felt good just the same.
Many won't admit to it, but Minnesota is arguably the #1 college hockey program of all time and all other programs fans will argue against this idea vehemently and it's part of why they hate Minnesota SO MUCH. The fact that "some" Minnesota fans, apparently enough of them, believe this and let it be known that they believe as much, earned Gopher fans a reputation as being arrogant, which just adds fuel to the fire that burns within all those who hate the Gophers. They point to the # of titles as proof it's not true, or long title droughts in the 40s, 50s and 60s or the 80s and 90s, or since 2003 as proof it's not true and dismiss any other factor being considered, because they know considering other factors will hurt their argument.
The VAST majority of Gopher sports fans are very humble, even self deprecating sometimes. That includes myself, when discussing non-hockey sports.
Minnesota Nice is a real thing, and it influences Minnesota sports fans, to a degree.
A vocal minority often grumble and whine and cry and belly ache about how hard it is to be a Gopher sports fan or a Minnesota sports fan sometimes, while others try to stay positive and argue with the grumblers. In many ways they are similar to all other fan bases, but when it comes to the idea of being humble, in general, Minnesota fans are different than most. While most fan bases have their share of arrogant and rude or obnoxious fans at games or in bars or online, when their team wins or even when they lose as well, and the Gophers have their share of these types of fans, Gopher fans generally are not as bad and are more humble, in general.
And this is why the fans of Gopher hockey only or primarily, having a vocal minority among them that are arrogant or have been, sticks out to me, and yes, I am one of the most vocal and most arrogant of all Gopher hockey fans, if not the most, so much so that I kind of enjoy a status of being hated by the vast majority of Gopher hockey fans, or if not hated, barely tolerated. Years back, here at this site, I was accused of being someone else with an alt moniker, I can't remember his name now but he was famous here for being very arrogant regarding Gopher hockey. They often come in after me and felt obligated to explain that most Gopher fans are not assholes like me, lol. It's funny. They often argue with me, maybe as a way of trying to prove to their non-Gopher fan friends in places like this one, that they are not like me, or maybe because they genuinely don't believe as I do? It's possible, like I said, Gopher sports fans are a pretty humble and/or negative bunch, overall. At least when they are sober, and that also includes the Gopher hockey fans.
Please don't hate on them because of me, or give them grief. OR, if the Gophers lose today, please concentrate all of your negative focus/comments on me/towards me, as I've earned it, they haven't, I've watched them all, for the most part, be very nice and generous with their praise and acknowledgement of other teams. I try, but my efforts are probably forgotten or not noticed because of my pro-Mn and pro-B1G rhetoric drowning them out, and I can take it. I feel a little bad because if the Gophers lose today, some people, not many but a few, will actually believe it was my fault, lol. Others will feel that any or all negative comments directed at them or in their general direction, were because of me.
If the Gophers win, they will almost all be very gracious and kind in their words. I'll also try to be as well, and it's much easier when your team wins.
See, for me, having most of the fans of a particular sport hate your team and it's fans, as a whole, or at least the arrogant ones among them, to me is a sign that my team HAS earned it. If the Gophers weren't any good, no one or few would bother with them or their fans. But that is not the case. The fact that fans of one team would ever buy another team's tshirts or sweatshirts or whatever, says alot. Or that an entire fan base would go to a game that their team wasn't playing in just to cheer against a rival, well, it says a lot, to me at least. The vast majority of Gopher fans don't like it when fans of other teams hate on them or the Gophers in response to someone like me. Do they think the Gophers will play better if they are seen as the lovable underdog? That would be my guess. Maybe they dream of being seen as America's team? Blame that on Herb Brooks maybe? lol That would be nice, but I just don't see it ever happening. Minnesota is America's version of Siberia. It's mascot is a friggin Gopher. So in hockey, we'll always be expected to be near the top, and anything but Frozen Fours is considered disappointing, so how can we ever become "America's team"? Especially now that pro all-star lineups make up the olympic teams, so there will never again be a Herb Brooks taking a young bunch of Minnesota boys with a spattering of Bostonians to a Miracle on Ice type thing again. In hockey, the best thing we can hope for, imo, is to be the big bad dominant team that wins too often and everyone hates. And Gopher players and fans should, again imo, revel in everyone's hating them. Soak it up, relish it, know it's because they are the best. Why was the Miracle on Ice in 1980 so incredibly significant and monumental and now so cherished? It's because of who they beat. They beat the unbeatable team, the feared and hated Russians. I want the Gophers to get beat by Quinipiac in 2041, FINALLY, after 4 failed attempts, 2023 being the first, and it being seen as the 21st Century version of the miracle on ice. It would be funny if the 2041 Q lineup was made up 80% of Russians, too. I mean, why not? It would be interesting.
Ok.
I prefer the whole 4 pm start time thing. Not enough free time before the game to write long ass crazy posts like this one. Instead it's 5 pm, I'm already buzzed and the game is hours away from starting. Only thing worse than losing a Championship game is the time between the semifinal game and the title game, where you just don't know what's going to happen. You hope your team will win, but you also know your team could lose. The anticipation can be torture. Doesn't help that I am always on vacation all of March and half of April every year, so work can't help distract me.
Here's hoping for a basically penalty free game, no fights, with ZERO injuries, with the best team winning, hopefully in a tight close entertaining game.
