Re: "Next Year" Begins Now: Michigan Tech 2010-11 Season Thread Part I
If there was ever something to draw people to a sport, it is having a game of that intensity early in the season. Especially after feeling like Tech completely blew it after giving up 4 freaking goals earlier in the third period, and then having magic happen. Given the timing of the game, it could very well have been many students' first game.
I had been a college hockey fan all my life, but there was no defining moment when I can honestly say in my heart of hearts that my allegiances switched to the Huskies for good. For all of Tech athletics, it had to be my first home football game (my first athletic event with the Pep Band), where Tech won in triple overtime. I think my love for the Huskies at the point and my long fanship with college hockey just merged at the start of the year. Many horrible games after that, especially at the start of that year, didn't seem to dull that.
Though, if an early season, intense rivalry win is what it takes to win new fans in college hockey, then there should really have been more interest in the team following October 13th, 2006. We always go back to The Comeback, but we don't mention the intense game where we beat NMU in the last 3 seconds. 4,011 saw that game, then they went on the road and swept Vermont, and came home to a measly 2,357 against Anchorage (and a 9-0 win).
It is interesting that people say "The fans would come back if Tech started to win and there was reason for optimism with the team". Going into that Saturday night with a 4-1 record and primed for the home sweep, Tech drew just 2,479.
There is something wrong with this picture, especially in a 'hockey community' like the Keweenaw. But, there is a new class of students on this campus and the tickets are now free to students. Maybe this next generation will get to see an early season classic and become hooked. I doubt it.
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As for the Misfits, being the official student section and actively trying to recruit as many people as possible sets things up for disaster. When the group grows large, you get people in there that add a number to the organization count, but don't necessarily add anything valuable to the organization. Especially when there is really no barrier to get in (free ticket, sign up for the email list, maybe buy the shirt, and you are a Misfit).
The leadership is in place. People have been there before. But there is enough apathy in the mix that it becomes hard to connect the power of the section to reach full potential. If it was like the old days, where people bought actual seats instead of just getting a section ticket, then you would have organization and the 'power people' would be together and the energy would be a cumulative effect and would radiate outward. Things are too diffuse when it is a free-for-all.
The Huskies Pep Band sees it at football games. 15% fully committed and engaged, but diffused by 85% that would rather sit in the grass, kick a soccer ball around behind the bleachers, and just be present without adding anything to the atmosphere. Actively recruiting a larger band also dilutes the hockey band. I may be biased, but I think we were pretty powerful when we had about 100 people. Gaining 2.5X does not necessarily equate to a better change. It isn't the number, it is the willingness of the people to be willing to put aside themselves and be loud, and risk standing out.
The problem for the Misfits is that it has become such a bloated organization that is includes so many people that are just there as a number, and not a contributor. In this way, the original small group was much more powerful than the current few hundred. Not everybody that is a Misfit has the energy and enthusiasm of a Misfit, and that wasn't the case at the start. Contraction is the only way to save the Misfits, if it already isn't a lost cause.
Becoming an official part of the University is a death knell for any creative and energetic group. There are benefits (USG money, a direct contact to the athletic department, easier and more legit to get alumni gifts), but you lose the autonomy, gain the bureaucracy and red tape that comes with being a student org, and end up with a membership that doesn't reflect the true value of the group because university rules say you can't have exclusive membership. You can't exclude the ****** bags, because they are now entitled to join your group. Even the ****** bag who doesn't want to cheer on the team vocally.
And there are a lot of people on this campus that are apathetic, but will go to a game because it is free. And that is their right. Unfortunately, because the Misfits is the official university student section, that is where these fans are placed. And if you are surrounded by people who are quiet, it becomes much harder to step up and be loud, especially when the next person who wants to step up and be loud is so far away because of the sheer number of apathetic.
I actually run into this problem now that I am retired from the band, which is diluted but still has a bit of a concentration of loud diehards. I still have the desire to yell and scream at Tech events, but it is hard to do if those around me are dead. This year's home football game was an example. I am sure the game against Ni****ing will be another example.
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Less than 24 hours until the exhibition. I implore MTU not to lose this hockey game.
