Re: UNH Wildcats 2010 off-season thread
That would imply that the UNH students want to take the initiative on such things. The argument people have been making is that while we would welcome the students to start cheers, the simple fact of the matter is that THEY DON'T.
As I've said, hockey has become a social thing. It's to be seen and to kill time before going to a party.
This year there was a group of "body painters." I never noticed this group of guys until the end of the season, and shortly thereafter the student newspaper did an article on them. These guys were self described "Best fans" of the hockey team.
And yet they can't be bothered to show up on time, often not arriving in the student section until the middle of the 1st. Not one showed up for the Hockey East quarterfinals. Sure, it was Spring Break, but one would think that the hockey team's "best fans" would put hockey first. I never went on a spring break trip during college BECAUSE I wanted to go to hockey. These guys also didn't show to Albany, and nobody ever saw them at an away game. Apparently the Whitt is far enough, and even that is sometimes too far.
So even when a small group of students organize, there is very little dedication and persistence.
I don't want to step on anyone's toes here, since I realize that UNH isn't
my team per se, but I'm not sure this sort of negativity about the student section is helpful or productive. Maybe it's not that the students aren't taking initiative, but that they aren't sure what a good cheer might be (I know that sounds simple, but if the only cheers you know are led by other people, maybe you're worried that you might either do something at the wrong time or do something that is someone else's cheer). By meeting with a small group of students and encouraging them to be more vocal and in turn having the
students meet with other students, that might make people more comfortable about cheering in the section.
Did you not party when you were on campus? I know I'm a fairly recent graduate, but hockey was absolutely something to do before a party. Once I learned about the game and the cheers, I was much more inclined to stay for the whole game and cheer in the student section. I know that we're all pretty hard core about the game, but I wonder how many people who show up for the game know anything about the game? I sure as hell didn't when I showed up on campus - we didn't have hockey where I grew up. I went to my first game because it's
the thing to do at BU when you're a freshman. When I saw how cool our student section was, I wanted to be a part of it and kept going. If you work on generating a good atmosphere, I bet people will stay the whole game and join the section.
Maybe the "body painters" weren't around for the first part of the season? Or, at least, not as the "body painters". Maybe one guy was studying abroad and when he got back inspired the rest of his buddies. Maybe they decided to do it after Christmas break. Who knows, but I don't think denigrating their efforts is a good thing.
I can't speak for the on time thing, it's an issue at every school. The Spring Break, Albany, and away game thing might just be the result of being a student. If dorms are closed, which I was informed that they are, I imagine it's not easy to stick around on campus for hockey. If they don't live nearby, it might not be easy for them to get back for the quarters...or maybe they don't have a car. Maybe students wanted to go on Spring Break and relax...
As for Regionals, there is a thread here expressing concern about the cost of Regional tickets started by people who are out of school and have jobs, what college student can afford tickets, hotel (even split between friends), transportation, and food? That's an awful lot to ask of students, especially if UNH wasn't offering any help in the transportation or group rate for hotel fronts.
Away games? If you don't have transportation or solid student support/organization, you might not be able to get to games. Or maybe they don't know that UNH has a decent alumni/parent showing at away games (or at least at NU they did this year) and that they'd be welcome to join. I think most schools have significantly fewer fans that travel with them on the road than at home. Distance might be an issue too. BU fans travel well to some schools because it's only a T ride or commuter rail ride away: BC and NU cost $3.40 round trip, Providence, Lowell, and Merrimack cost only commuter rail fares plus a cheap cab, and UNH has an Amtrak stop on campus.
I think that the small groups should be encouraged and fostered and that they might be just the kind of fans that would be interested in doing more and becoming leaders with a little bit of help.
