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National Championship: Union vs. Minnesota (Choaches stay out of it!)

Re: National Championship: Union vs. Minnesota (Choaches stay out of it!)

Slightly different for me, but I grew up in State College, PA and was/am a die hard Nittany Lion. Mom, Dad, Brother, Step-bro, Step-sis all went to PSU. I also had a grandfather who was a professor in the history department. My dad tells a story that, when PSU won the the 82 football championship (I was about 6 months old), he had to hand me off to my mom because he was worried he would launch me into the ceiling when they won. It was different for me in that Union was DIII and DI in hockey, and therefore would never compete against Penn State. I could easily maintain all allegiances. When PSU added hockey, and Union ended up on their schedule last year, I couldn't wait for Union to beat their brains out. Finaly my school could kick the *** of my dad's and brother's. This year, when I was back home over Thanksgiving, I went to the Union-PSU game with a ton of PSU alum friends. I could not have rooted harder for Union and couldn't have wanted to watch PSU win any less. As much as I love PSU, that hockey team will never mean anything to me.

I will always root for PSU in anything except for hockey. My alma-mater is far more important to me than the alma-mater of my family and friends and the school I grew up living and dying with.

I also always had this thing about wearing the gear from a college I didn't go to. I kind of felt grandfathered in with PSU, but even now, I tend to wear stuff that says happy valley or is specific for football.
 
Re: National Championship: Union vs. Minnesota (Choaches stay out of it!)

CLS said:
If the atmosphere in Wisconsin is nowhere near what it is in Minnesota, the atmosphere in New England is in a different universe. In NE, the highest level of school hockey is played by the prep schools. The prep schools have enrollments in the hundreds, and have only a loose connection with the towns in which they reside. The athletes come from all over the New England, in fact all over the country, and even from abroad. Very few of them played together before prep school. I’ve seen games between teams with D1 recruits on their rosters played in front of friends, family, and maybe thirty students. This year, I had to do a desperate search of twitter feeds to even find out where the tournament was and who was in it.
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This kind of surprises me, given the history of hockey in New England, but the reasons you mentioned make sense.

Gurtholfin said:
Well, as you know (and have poked fun at) the atmosphere is nowhere near what is up in St. Paul. You should check out a sectional final in the Milwaukee area. Would probably have a better atmosphere and a couple of rivals playing each other to boot.
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I've seen some YouTube clips of some Madison-area high school hockey (and the one where the commentator...there's a commentator...was yelling "IT WAS A LEGAL HIT!") and went to the state championship finals this year, and when I think about it, I really appreciate it. Both the level of play and support are astounding compared to where I'm from. Sure, I heard just about nothing of the state hockey championships outside of local hockey circles, and there were plenty of seats available at the Coliseum, but it was pretty impressive without taking things for granted.
 
Re: National Championship: Union vs. Minnesota (Choaches stay out of it!)

pokechecker said:
boy, you must be young

It started long before Woog came on the scene, Mariucci started it, Sonmor, Buetow, Brooks, and Yackel (yes, Yackel, that's how you know an old Gopher fan, he served as interim between Sonmor & Brooks) all built upon the idea.
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I wish I was young...

I understand that all of the coaches, with the exception of Mariucci, recruited players from other states/regions/countries. What I was saying was Woog had a policy of recruiting Minnesota only and the aftermath of that policy hurt recruiting efforts for Lucia for a few years after he started.

I think we can all agree that there are years where the talent level in Minnesota may not have been the best and even "getting the top 5" was not enough to be competitive.
 
JoeGopher said:
I wish I was young...

I understand that all of the coaches, with the exception of Mariucci, recruited players from other states/regions/countries. What I was saying was Woog had a policy of recruiting Minnesota only and the aftermath of that policy hurt recruiting efforts for Lucia for a few years after he started.

I think we can all agree that there are years where the talent level in Minnesota may not have been the best and even "getting the top 5" was not enough to be competitive.
Click to expand...

I think "competitive" is a bit strong, because the Gophers have always been competitive. But I do agree with your point. There are years that aren't as strong as others in terms of talent coming out of the state and opening up recruiting in this day and age where talent is coming from all over was the right move to make.
 
mnstate0fhockey said:
I think "competitive" is a bit strong, because the Gophers have always been competitive. But I do agree with your point. There are years that aren't as strong as others in terms of talent coming out of the state and opening up recruiting in this day and age where talent is coming from all over was the right move to make.
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I'm okay with opening up recruiting. I don't mind a few Wisconsin players here or there and the occasional Haula/Vanek in the mix. Just don't start recruiting Canadians. That's where I draw the line. Leave it to only Americans with a sprinkle of Europeans.
 
ShotFromThePoint said:
I'm okay with opening up recruiting. I don't mind a few Wisconsin players here or there and the occasional Haula/Vanek in the mix. Just don't start recruiting Canadians. That's where I draw the line. Leave it to only Americans with a sprinkle of Europeans.
Click to expand...

For me personally, I don't really care where players come from, but I really would like to see the majority of our roster come from within Minnesota. I really don't see a reason why that needs to change considering the amount of talent the state produces.

I'd like to see the program look in-state first, and then suppliment based on what they need from wherever. I think Lucia and Guentzel have done a fantastic job of that.

As far as Canadians go, I had no problem with guys like Kris Chuko and Peter Kennedy wearing the "M" under Lucia. As long as the majority of the roster is Minnesotan, I think supplimenting with great players from elsewhere is a good thing.
 
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Re: National Championship: Union vs. Minnesota (Choaches stay out of it!)

WiscDC said:
I noticed something similar. Maybe not so much pride in each individual suburb, but everyone seems really into high school sports. We always hear how proud they are of high school hockey, but I was taken aback by how much people follow high school football up there. I've heard more about Minnesota high school football than Wisconsin high school football, that's for sure. Another funny thing, and this is more from a Wisconsin perspective, is how much people care about states in this region. Maybe it's because I'm from northern Virginia, where we're more connected to DC and Maryland than the rest of the state, but I think in terms of cities, their metro areas, and real distances. However, it seems like people in Eau Claire, and even the Twin Cities suburbs in Wisconsin, are just as likely to root for the Brewers as they are the Twins. Same with Kenosha and the Bears/Packers.
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This is a great point about how Minnesotans have a tremendous sense of pride about where they are from. I don't know if it is mutually exclusive to Minnesota but perhaps it is.

What surprises me about in Wisconsin is how many Twins fans are in Western/Northwestern Wisconsin. Makes sense because they are no longer rivals and the Twins are much closer. Plus I'm always shocked (really shouldn't be) how many Cub fans are all over Wisconsin.
 
Re: National Championship: Union vs. Minnesota (Choaches stay out of it!)

Biddco said:
What surprises me about in Wisconsin is how many Twins fans are in Western/Northwestern Wisconsin. Makes sense because they are no longer rivals and the Twins are much closer. Plus I'm always shocked (really shouldn't be) how many Cub fans are all over Wisconsin.
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That doesn't surprise me. Hudson is a long way from Milwaukee. State lines don't define sports teams of choice and folks in NW Wisconsin are most likely getting Twin Cities media.

Been in Hudson for a few youth tourneys and the stores have equal selection of Packers and Vikings stuff. Makes sense to me.


As far as the Cubs go, there are fans everywhere. I was a fan for most of my life until the Brewers went to the National league and I was forced to choose.

Wasn't a difficult choice, btw. ;)
 
Re: National Championship: Union vs. Minnesota (Choaches stay out of it!)

Gurtholfin said:
That doesn't surprise me. Hudson is a long way from Milwaukee. State lines don't define sports teams of choice and folks in NW Wisconsin are most likely getting Twin Cities media.

Been in Hudson for a few youth tourneys and the stores have equal selection of Packers and Vikings stuff. Makes sense to me.


As far as the Cubs go, there are fans everywhere. I was a fan for most of my life until the Brewers went to the National league and I was forced to choose.

Wasn't a difficult choice, btw. ;)
Click to expand...

Unless its Packers Vikings then the fans are based on almost exactly where the border is located.
 
Re: National Championship: Union vs. Minnesota (Choaches stay out of it!)

WiscDC said:
This kind of surprises me, given the history of hockey in New England, but the reasons you mentioned make sense.
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To be sure, some of the games involving the public schools (and the parochial schools that compete against the public schools) are much more well attended (though I'm guessing nowhere near Minnesota). Just that the quality of play isn't as good.
 
Re: National Championship: Union vs. Minnesota (Choaches stay out of it!)

I had a guess that Union was the smallest school to win a championship...but then again I don't know how big CC was in the 50's or Lake State in the 90's.
 
Re: National Championship: Union vs. Minnesota (Choaches stay out of it!)

Biddco said:
I had a guess that Union was the smallest school to win a championship...but then again I don't know how big CC was in the 50's or Lake State in the 90's.
Click to expand...
CC is still only around 2000, and I doubt that it was larger back in the '50s.
 
Re: National Championship: Union vs. Minnesota (Choaches stay out of it!)

Biddco said:
This is a great point about how Minnesotans have a tremendous sense of pride about where they are from. I don't know if it is mutually exclusive to Minnesota but perhaps it is.
Click to expand...
I've never lived in Minnesota, so I can't compare, but Texas is very similar, I think. There's definitely Texas pride, but also local town pride within Texas that is unlike any other place I have lived. I can't imagine a state with greater state pride than TX - it's just ridiculous how frequently you see references to the state (the lone stars, the outline of the state, bluebonnets, cowboy boots, etc) emblazoned on cars, door knockers, bumper stickers, cooking utensils, welcome mats, embedded in the wrought iron fences and gates, etc. It's just way, way over the top.
 
Re: National Championship: Union vs. Minnesota (Choaches stay out of it!)

Biddco said:
I had a guess that Union was the smallest school to win a championship...but then again I don't know how big CC was in the 50's or Lake State in the 90's.
Click to expand...

CC is the smallest of the 59 NCAA Division I schools. We are the next smallest, then St. Lawrence.
 
UnionTDX04 said:
Slightly different for me, but I grew up in State College, PA and was/am a die hard Nittany Lion. Mom, Dad, Brother, Step-bro, Step-sis all went to PSU. I also had a grandfather who was a professor in the history department. My dad tells a story that, when PSU won the the 82 football championship (I was about 6 months old), he had to hand me off to my mom because he was worried he would launch me into the ceiling when they won. It was different for me in that Union was DIII and DI in hockey, and therefore would never compete against Penn State. I could easily maintain all allegiances. When PSU added hockey, and Union ended up on their schedule last year, I couldn't wait for Union to beat their brains out. Finaly my school could kick the *** of my dad's and brother's. This year, when I was back home over Thanksgiving, I went to the Union-PSU game with a ton of PSU alum friends. I could not have rooted harder for Union and couldn't have wanted to watch PSU win any less. As much as I love PSU, that hockey team will never mean anything to me.

I will always root for PSU in anything except for hockey. My alma-mater is far more important to me than the alma-mater of my family and friends and the school I grew up living and dying with.

I also always had this thing about wearing the gear from a college I didn't go to. I kind of felt grandfathered in with PSU, but even now, I tend to wear stuff that says happy valley or is specific for football.
Click to expand...

I have some similarities to you. Grew up in St. Cloud, was a HUGE SCSU hockey fan and attended quite a few football and men's basketball games along the way too. Attended UMD and switched primary allegiances for almost everything (I'm a particularly big UMD football fan/season ticket holder). I was such a big Husky hockey fan, though, that I still root for them first. It's not like I "refused" to switch, I just always find myself rooting for them an being a little more invested in the outcome of their games. I do have UMD hockey season tickets and consider them "1a." Nobody gives a crap about basketball in Duluth, so I still root more for Huskies
men's basketball too.

I'm a huge Gopher fan in all sports except hockey. While there is nothing better than beating the Gophers and nothing worse than losing to the Gophers in hockey (and I'm well-aware that it is not a rivalry, just one-sided animosity), my allegiance to other Gopher sports leads me to root for them when they play NoDak, Wisconsin, Michigan, or most Eastern teams.
 
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