Re: Wisconsin Hockey, Vol II: Rebuild, Refresh, and Renew!
Those two facts (the canned PA music and being out-cheered at times by visiting fans) really kills what little atmosphere we have left in that building.
The aura of Badger hockey is dead, fellas. It'll take a lot more to bring it back, and I've a feeling it'll be like new Blackhawks fans if it ever does come back.
What was was, and will never be again.
I wouldn't go that far. I've been saying for over a year that UW hockey as we know it
died, but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect it to be revived. Even in the last 2 years, that
something different (you know what I'm talking about) about the student section was still there (just scaled down in size, unfortunately). I was also a basketball season ticket holder, and even when they went from very good (which for some reason students never appreciated) to going to final fours, it never really got that
something different that the hockey student section had (I heard the same things from friends who only casually followed the hockey team). There have been flashes in the pan where I really felt like I was taken back in time 5 years. While it's completely different now, it's still salvageable, because hockey fans will continue to come through. We just need them to care about UW hockey, and that's a slow introduction process. That's part of the reason why I (and many other fans) still have student section tickets...there's a gap that needs to be bridged.
This was going to be a throwaway weekend in terms of atmosphere, just like the volleyball/hockey/B1G football conflict 2 years ago. It's unfortunate, but it's the way it is. I'm definitely unhappy about the band being gone, and I'm going to be disappointed with the crowd tomorrow, I'm sure. Tonight, we did reasonably well, all things considered. Really, the Omaha fans only started out-cheering UW fans in OT...they had been saving their breath for much of the game; nobody around me was doing that, especially after singing "Hot Time" entirely a cappella; they didn't play it. They were vocal early on, but they got drowned out pretty quickly whenever that happened, except for one or two times when everyone was literally trying to stay quiet to hear what on earth they were saying. (Just like [something], we want seven?) Unfortunately, nobody in the second deck was standing and being active, so depending on where you were in relation to the fans and the glass, they'd probably sound a lot louder, and you wouldn't have heard the numerous "uno" jokes.
It's worth worrying about, but I wouldn't worry about it too much. Let's see what happens in the second half of the year when people remember this sport exists.
