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Wisconsin Hockey 2018-2019 Part 2: Still not time for the witty thread title.

Timothy A said:
Yeah, I guess.....Pavs to the Stars....not real thrilled with that move either. Not a Stars fan.
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Talk about a stake to the heart. It looks like Doug Wilson really low-balled Joe looking for a "hometown discount" so it's obvious Wilson didn't want him.
Too bad Joe will never hoist the cup; he was a winner at every level.
 
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druzy192 said:
How long ago did the people in charge at the Kohl Center decide to blare loud music between whistles? I've only been to a few games the last few years but I can't stand it.
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It’s awful.

The rise in the “atmosphere by PA” came while attendance and student section were both dropping off a cliff. It’s a stupid answer to a serious problem, but I fear that it’s here to stay.
 
druzy192 said:
With the new Bucks arena Wisconsin should now should be able to compete in hosting another Frozen Four.
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The State of Wisconsin Billionaire Handout Forum is new, but undersized. I don’t know how big it would actually be in a hockey configuration, but I doubt that they’d seat more than 16,500 (and with bad hockey sight lines to boot). Why the NCAA would go for that instead of an NHL arena is beyond me.
 
Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2018-2019 Part 2: Still not time for the witty thread title.

ExileOnDaytonStreet said:
It’s awful.

The rise in the “atmosphere by PA” came while attendance and student section were both dropping off a cliff. It’s a stupid answer to a serious problem, but I fear that it’s here to stay.
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OK, since it is the off-season let's stir the pot a little bit...

What do you define as the problem?

What would you see as the correct answer to the problem?
 
KaMiGo said:
OK, since it is the off-season let's stir the pot a little bit...
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Yes, I like it, it’s the best reason to roam these parts in the off-season.

KaMiGo said:
What do you define as the problem?
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I think things got stale in the Kohl Center about ten years ago, attendance dropped and the student section got less vocal/involved in the game.

Someone on staff figured canned noise was better than none and that’s how we got to where we are.

Simply put: how much canned music you hear is directly the definition of the problem. Outside of rare exceptions, it stifles any organic atmosphere you feel at a game.

KaMiGo said:
What would you see as the correct answer to the problem?
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I have no idea, because these types of things work best when they happen organically (as they used to), and “forcing” atmosphere almost never works.

That said: let the pep band play. My solution starts with that. Traditionally, our fans respond strongly with the band. Maybe things have changed slightly since my Crease Creature heyday (03-08), but I’ve felt that it’s been the same with the students.

There are cool things that happen with canned music (Jump Around, some soccer anthems that are lead by playing a song over the PA, etc), but that’s the exception. The vast majority of it falls flat, and just feels like filler. I don’t know precisely the psychology behind it (maybe the same difference between how people dance to Shout and The Electric Slide at weddings?), but it just has to go.

Maybe if the atmosphere is lead by the band, it’ll feel weird at first, but people will adjust.

Also: Find out how to make Phil Dzick live forever.
 
Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2018-2019 Part 2: Still not time for the witty thread title.

ExileOnDaytonStreet said:
Yes, I like it, it’s the best reason to roam these parts in the off-season.

I think things got stale in the Kohl Center about ten years ago, attendance dropped and the student section got less vocal/involved in the game.

Someone on staff figured canned noise was better than none and that’s how we got to where we are.

Simply put: how much canned music you hear is directly the definition of the problem. Outside of rare exceptions, it stifles any organic atmosphere you feel at a game.

I have no idea, because these types of things work best when they happen organically (as they used to), and “forcing” atmosphere almost never works.

That said: let the pep band play. My solution starts with that. Traditionally, our fans respond strongly with the band. Maybe things have changed slightly since my Crease Creature heyday (03-08), but I’ve felt that it’s been the same with the students.

There are cool things that happen with canned music (Jump Around, some soccer anthems that are lead by playing a song over the PA, etc), but that’s the exception. The vast majority of it falls flat, and just feels like filler. I don’t know precisely the psychology behind it (maybe the same difference between how people dance to Shout and The Electric Slide at weddings?), but it just has to go.

Maybe if the atmosphere is lead by the band, it’ll feel weird at first, but people will adjust.

Also: Find out how to make Phil Dzick live forever.
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Maybe the new band director will bring fresh material? Or maybe NOTHING at all.
I'd like to see the canned **** reduced by 50% and the new guy given a chance to pump up the crowd.
 
Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2018-2019 Part 2: Still not time for the witty thread title.

Side note:

My offseason project is to make a spreadsheet of every single incoming recruiting class at UW since 1963. Looking for stuff like NHL draft results, NHL games played, UW games played, UW pts/game, and more.

Turns out it’s not as simple as reading off the letter winners in the media guide.
 
Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2018-2019 Part 2: Still not time for the witty thread title.

KaMiGo said:
OK, since it is the off-season let's stir the pot a little bit...

What do you define as the problem?

What would you see as the correct answer to the problem?
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Problem: Canned music sucks.
Solution: All music played by the band.

Next question.
 
Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2018-2019 Part 2: Still not time for the witty thread title.

There are moments where fans respond with something genuine and moving, wherecanned music can help create something bigger than the song.

https://youtu.be/veHQMaxiOmg

https://youtu.be/uOFMov4RR_Q

But moments like that are rare. More often than not, it just shuts up the crowd.

You’d think that there isn’t anything substantially different about a pep band, but there’s something about the feel of it, about how brass heavy our band is, how much the drums come into play. Or maybe it’s our history of having cheers lead by the band. Whatever it is: the band _leads_ the atmosphere, it doesn’t distract from it.
 
Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2018-2019 Part 2: Still not time for the witty thread title.

Problem: Not enough goals scored.

Solution: Score more goals.
 
Timothy A said:
I just LOVE when the fans of soccer teams sing like that, it gives me chills. Maybe that is why I love singing "Varsty" so much and I do enjoy "Sweet Caroline" at the hockey games.
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I don’t have a dog in the fight with European soccer, but I will defy anyone who says that You’ll Never Walk Alone isn’t one of the most moving anthems in all of sports. The only thing that comes close is how hilarious it is that West Ham United fans sing a song about their dreams fading and dying.
 
Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2018-2019 Part 2: Still not time for the witty thread title.

Wisko McBadgerton said:
Problem: Not enough goals scored.

Solution: Score more goals.
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Get more top end talent -> score more goals -> win more games -> get more fans in the seats -> create a better atmosphere -> present a better experience during recruiting visits -> get more top end talent...
 
Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2018-2019 Part 2: Still not time for the witty thread title.

kamigo said:
get more top end talent -> score more goals -> win more games -> get more fans in the seats -> create a better atmosphere -> band plays all music ->present a better experience during recruiting visits -> get more top end talent
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fyp.
 
Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2018-2019 Part 2: Still not time for the witty thread title.

I'd bet that >90% of people who go to games love when there's a lively atmosphere and a vocal crowd. I'd also bet that <10% of that majority are comfortable hearing their own voices. The vast majority would happily join in if everyone else were already up and about, but they are "everyone else."

The Kohl Center isn't the Field House. It can certainly get bonkers and have the liveliest of lively atmospheres, but the pep band (even at its maximum bball/hockey size) won't fill the venue like the volleyball band can at the Field House. My friends with men's hockey season tickets at the north end of the arena tell me how insanely quiet and distant it feels over there.

I would love it if they had one of those systems that slightly amplifies the band in the farther sections of the venue to balance it out. I don't know how expensive that is to get the desired payoff. Either way, there are moments where I realistically prefer some pump up song over the loudspeaker.

There is an answer, and it's to go to Forward Madison games, befriend those people, and haul them to Badgers games. (Kind of like an in-real-life ctrl+c ctrl+v maneuver.) I've met a lot of other fans who lament how few people appreciate what UW Hockey games could be, because they're Badgers fans too. Despite being in a very open air environment and having fewer people, the Flock End packs a bigger punch than any of the Badgers student sections these days, because everyone in that group of a few hundred(?) wants what we're all talking about in this thread. (And no, it's not just because of the beer.)

Rip out a section of seats, replace it with a standing section (non-student), get people on board, get the sitting people to spread the energy.

...While I'm on the topic unrealistic stuff, they should set ice roads so we can all skate to the games, which are all on major national TV networks, where they give us in-seat massages and *sniffs the air* lobster for dinner!

Wisko McBadgerton said:
Problem: Not enough goals scored.

Solution: Score more goals.
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Oh, and this.
 
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