What we need at Messa Rink: UHB's Manifesto

This past year I attended my ninth Frozen Four. Since my first time attending the tournament (2000 in Providence) I've said that Frozen Four weekend is my favorite time of the year... even more than my birthday, the winter holidays, and the Stanley Cup playoffs. Every time the weekend ends I'm pretty depressed that I have to wait a whole year to go back.

But, why do I love this tournament so much? First off, it's one of the very few (if not the only) traditions my family has, and I love having a guys weekend every year with my Dad and younger brothers. But, there has to be something more than that right? I mean I never had a rooting interest (Union and Army have never even made it to the NCAA tourney), and the tournament is placed in some pretty lackluster cities some years (like this year in Detroit). So, after some pondering I figured out why I'm so enchanted by this tournament. And the answer I came up with: the excitement and energy the fans bring.

College hockey fans are some of the most passionate fans in all of sports, even though it's a very small community. They travel to far away cities, own every piece of apparel their team offers, and partake in organized chants. It's so amazing going to the Frozen Four and watching the fan sections of each team (I did that a lot this year since every game was a blowout by the time the second period came around). Everyone, and I mean everyone, has a team jersey or shirt, and every team has their own organized chants for every situation. They even coordinate with their pep band. On Frozen Four Thursday (which is basically my Christmas) this year, I sat in the Wisconsin section for the first game and in the RIT section for the second game. I was so impressed with each group and their passion for their team, even though they were so different. Wisconsin had an older, more organized fan base, while RIT had a younger and funnier group of fans. Both sections were decked out in their respective colors.

I guess the main reason why I've been so amused by this over the past decade is because the college hockey teams I watch don't have fans like this. Army games are usually filled with cub scouts and not many cadets show up unless it's a rivalry game. I always thought it would be amazing if the cadets showed up, and acted like they do at football games. At Union we have decent amount of loyal fans, but that's about it. There really isn't any electricity in the rink for most games (besides RPI and playoff games). At big time college hockey arenas like North Dakota, Boston University, and Cornell every game game feels like a playoff game. Our team has improved over the past few season, and we as a fan base (especially the student body) need to improve as well. A few times this season we have seen how great our crowd can be.

Union Hockey is on the rise and we have Coach Leaman, his staff, the athletic department, and the players to thank for that. Now it's our turn to return the favor. If our team is going to play like a nationally ranked team then the fans need to act like a nationally ranked fan base.

As a reporter I can only do as much as I can to do this (since during games I'm usually sitting in the press box), so this endeavor is up to the students and the rest of the fans. Is this a challenge? I guess so. I know the Union faithful can do it though. We have passionate fans and a smart student body, and with a little bit of organization can become one of the best fan bases on the east coast.

So, with that said here these are my ideas on how to make the experience at Messa Rink a fun and exciting one every single game.

Pep Band: Yeah, we kind of have a pep band. They show up once in awhile wearing old Union Hockey jerseys (which is pretty cool), but they are pretty lackluster and inexperienced. The point of a pep band is to be really loud, play fun music, and get the fans involved with singing or organized hand motions or something. They need to watch some tape of big time hockey pep bands. Some of my favorites include Maine, RIT, Michigan, Boston University, Michigan Tech, and Cornell. The tough part will be coming up with original ideas. Playing "Eye of the Tiger" and "We are the Champions" just isn't going to cut it. I really don't have any suggestions for song selection since all the musical talent in my family went to my brother Mike who is heading to The George Washington University on a music scholarship this fall. But, we have plenty of creative people on campus that can think of some stuff. I know Union is a small school so we might not have that many musicians on campus, and there could be a lack in funding (but what type of funding do they need if they're not going to travel and own their own instruments?). With some publicizing around campus and hard work this could easily become a reality.

Better Student Section: There are very few hardcore fans that are students at Union, and with Will Freidman leaving who will take over for him? We need the students to show up every game... and on time! Coach Leaman has told me many times about how much his team loves playing in front of their peers and needs their support. Just look at this video for proof. I'm really not sure why not that many students show up. I mean the games last from 7ish to a little after 9, and parties on campus don't really start until 9ish depending on who you are. Will Freidman and I have done our best to promote the games, but we really haven't received the response we've been looking for. This is why I have expanded the blog to Facebook and Twitter. We have an exciting team, but our fans need to be excited about them. So how do we get them excited? Giveaways and free food? I'm not really sure. But, we're going to need a ringleader. The students just need to take some initiative.

Chants, Cheers, and Songs: This ties in the pep band and the student section. We have our generic chants like "Hey goalie your Mom called...," "Let's Go Union," and so on. While these are fine, we need cheers that are specific to our school and team. While I'm not the most creative person in the world I have thought of some ideas:

• At the end of games we should play "Ode to Old Union," our Alma Mater. Yeah, the song is ancient and I've never heard of some of those words in the song, but it's our song. Every Union student and alum should put their arms around each other at the end of every game, win or lose, and sing this song. Maybe the players will catch on and do it along with the fans.


• During games and/or towards the end of games that we're winning we should play "Union's Game," and the "Union Marching Song." To be honest, I had no idea that we had these songs and never heard of them. Once again, these are ancient but they are our songs. With these songs, along with the Alma Mater, we would definitely have to get the pep band involved.


• We have to do a sieve chant! Every fan base has one. We can start off with the basic chant, and then get a little more creative like Cornell does (see the Cornell video link).

Team Apparel: What I mean by this is that the entire student section and the fans should be wearing garnet. If you look at all the other good crowds they wear shirts with their school color. Everyone at Wisconsin wears Red, everyone at RIT wears orange, and so on. How can this be done? My first idea comes from Quinnipiac. At QU every freshman receives a yellow t-shirt with the Bobcat logo on the front, and their class year on the back. They are very simple and every student can wear these to any sporting event for four years. At Union orientation they gave us garnet shirts with the Alma Mater written on the back, and upside down on the front (so you can sing the song at the president's house... it's a Union tradition). These shirts are used only once and I rarely see anyone wear them at all (I don't even know if they still do this). What the school needs to do is do what QU does. Give every freshman a garnet shirt with a big "U" on the front and maybe something on the back. Union has improved on this front with the "7th Player Shirts", but not everyone has them. I guess some students are unwilling to pay the $15 or just don't realize that they're out there. So, giving shirts to the students for free might work better. I know jerseys are expensive so I'm not going to tell people to go buy one... but maybe they can start making one's with no names on the back at a reduced price?

We also need rivalry shirts for games against RPI. I have taken on this project myself, along with Justin Zolot, who is a very devoted Union Hockey fan. We're still in the midst of coming up with designs, costs, etc., but expect to hear about them in the very near future.

I guess you can call this my manifesto or whatever. Union fans can take it or leave it (but I hope you take it). We need Union fans to come out the shadows and take some initiative. I'm trying my best to keep everyone up to date on Union Hockey news, publicize games, and other stuff, but I can't do this on my own. I don't know who heads up the pep band or Union Hockey's 7th Player, so if you have information on this just leave a comment here or on the Facebook or Twitter page.

If the student body, Union Hockey's 7th Player, the Garnet Blades, the administration, and myself do our parts, we can make Messa Rink and Union College hockey one of the most exciting places and teams in all of college hockey.

Please leave comments about your ideas, suggestions, or whatever here or on the Facebook page.