Re: Norwich 14-15
Don't want to give too much credit to just one person, but it seems like that ever since NU Prof left for Colorado, this board became way too quiet. Maybe we miss his conversation stimulating abilities, or we have become complacent with our teams ability to win, I am not sure. However, the Cadets need our support this year more than ever as we start out the year with a very young team. The lack of activity on this board might reflect the low attendance at the games and again, I don't have an answer for either problem other than encouraging some of the younger fans (no, not the 10-16 year old ones, but they too are welcome) to get to the games and contribute to this forum. I have heard the jokes and comments about how old the average Norwich fan is, and we all know we are not getting younger. But as long as I am still breathing, I will be a proud Norwich supporter interested in watching the quality hockey the Cadets play. There are times that I will miss a game, but I always watch or listen and turn to this board to get more info about the team. Maybe USCHO and Norwich need to advertise to the younger (again, I am talking about the 20-30 year old group) folks, maybe hold some contests/events to get the interest going. Sound like a job for Prez as SID to push for a promotions crew. Lord knows he does a fantastic job and probably has little time to coordinate promotions. Maybe the Blue Line Club could do more in this department. I am just thinking out loud and don't want to ruffle anyone's feathers, but we really need to get the younger crowd invested in the hockey Cadets. I am looking forward to the game tomorrow night vs St. Mike's squad. Hope there is a good turn out. There, enough said. Good night and GO NORWICH!
I've finally been called out of the woods. As a young NU fan (24), I've followed this board for the past few years but have never joined. While I consider myself a big hockey fan (big enough to purchase NHL Center Ice so I can follow my Blues), I always felt that I didn't know enough about the game, especially the college game and recruiting, to contribute to any discussion. With that said, my time in the Corps has given me insight into the multiple factors that, combined, discourage young fans (from a Corps perspective). While I graduated a few years ago, they still apply. I wrote a longer post earlier, but it got lost when I tried to post it, and looking back it was filled with a lot of Corps-speak that could be lost on some people, so here's an abbreviated version. For this post, when I say "cadets" I'm referring to members of the Corps of Cadets.
1. Corps - Civilian Divide. I could write a thesis on relations between the Corps of Cadets and the traditional student body on campus, but the point is that cadets want to see cadets in jerseys that say "cadets" across the front. Why go to varsity games and cheer on a team that is almost entirely civilian in a PG-environment when you can go to a club game and cheer on your friends, cadre, and rook buddies and be as raucous and rowdy as you want? It was posted earlier that the hockey team was making efforts to engage with students and encourage them to go to the games, and I think this is a great first step as I barely even knew who the hockey players were when I attended.
2. Athlete Stigma in the Corps. Athletes have a reputation of using the fact that they are athletes to cut Corps standards and obligations, and understandably this turns cadet opinion against athletes. Sometimes this is absolutely justified, and certain teams are worse than others, but overall it's an unfortunate stereotype as there are plenty of athletes who are also outstanding cadets. The best way to combat this stereotype is to have athletes in Corps senior leadership positions to be a model to the rest of the Corps about what athletes are about, but also to hold athletes in the Corps accountable. Being an athlete should come with even more responsibility as it is the athletes who represent the school on a regular basis. As we would tell the athletes when I was there (and I being one of them), "You chose to check both boxes when you came here. You checked the box to be an athlete, and you checked the box to be in the Corps of Cadets. You are expected to meet the standards of both."
3. Lack of Rivalries. Cadets always hear stories from alumni and people who've been around about the epic pranks in Norwich history (stealing the Coast Guard bear, painting their schooner maroon and gold, Middlebury students painting Sabine Sally pink, etc.). But those days are over. Rooks no longer stand watch during the week leading up to the Coast Guard game (partly because there is no Coast Guard game…not until 2017 anyways). While Middlebury will always be Norwich's traditional rival, Castleton is now the biggest rival for Norwich athletes, mainly because the Middlebury rivalry is only played out on a consistent basis in hockey while pretty much every Norwich team plays Castleton annually. Notice I said biggest rivalry for
athletes, not
students. This is because the rivalries exist solely on the field. The students don't have anything invested in them. And I think that's partially because the reality of the modern world damper enthusiasm. Pranks that even approach the level of those legendary ones would make whoever conducted them financially and legally responsible, which would likely cost them their commissions (or from the rival's standpoint, could likely get them expelled and left in debt). Just like the Rooks standing watch, the days of General Harmon refusing to pay a bill to cover the damages that cadets caused to Middlebury's campus are over.
4. Van Wilder Syndrome. This one is stupid and ****es me off, but that doesn't mean that it's not a reality. There's this belief that when you graduate Norwich, you shouldn't be too invested in it in any way because otherwise you're a loser who wants to stay in the glory days. For example, I know for a fact that if some of my friends knew that I was devoting time on a board dedicated to the Norwich hockey team that they would tell me, "Dude, you need to move on." I don't think this is a unique Norwich problem, but it's a Norwich problem nonetheless. I think this reasoning is absolutely stupid. I have friends and relatives that went to Texas A&M, Florida State, Illinois, etc. and they are just as big of fans, if not bigger, of their teams now as they were when they actually attended those schools. When you graduate, teams are the way you stay connected to your school. Why should they be more proud of their alma mater than I am mine? Just because their teams play on ESPN? If anything, those connected with DIII schools should feel even more pride in their teams because the players are actually being held to the same standards as the rest of the students. Again, I hate this reason and think it's absolutely ridiculous, but that doesn't mean it isn't true.
As I said before, I've been reading this board for awhile. I really appreciate the insight and enthusiasm that everyone here brings to Norwich hockey and DIII sports in general.
