Thank-you, Mr.Cobb & Co

FightCadetsFight · Post by **FightCadetsFight** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 12:13 am

I attended all the games at the X today and I just want to thank the above mentioned folks for providing a venue that has none of the excitement, loudness and atmosphere that the players deserved at a state hockey tournament. There is supposed to be noisy bands, cheers and people rising out of their seats by exciting plays on the ice. I witnessed none of that today. I read some of the comments today in the Strib about Ridder's smaller seating capacity keeping the crowds down. What BS. Also mentioned was the fact that dance teams and wrestling have their state tournaments at the X. I personally don't care what the other sports do. I want a venue that allows the unique excitement of a great hockey game to be experienced by both players and spectators. As I have mentioned in previous posts the best atmosphere of any of the state tournaments to date was the first one at Aldrich Arena; standing room only, loud spectators, bands blaring. It was exciting to be there. Maybe I'm old school; but I prefer an arena where there is excitement in the stands which carries over to the players on the ice. Sorry about the long post; but it really ticks me off that these players and fans could have had a much better tournament atmosphere if it were still at Ridder. Cobb and company succeeded in getting a so-called better venue and they also succeeded in greatly diminishing the exciting tournament atmosphere out of the event.

hubbaa · Post by **hubbaa** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 5:23 am

cadets, i agree. to be honest i doubt i will go to another girl state game. most of the fun as a fan is the atmosphere and now that is completely gone. what a sham for PC! i'm embarressed for the sport. i suppose many of the girls like it but the one's that don't you won't hear from because it is the PC agenda to make everything sound rosey. so you will only hear the positives... aldrich was by far the best atmosphere. both games on the first day were packed and the championship as you noted was standing room. people were up and down in their seats screaming almost the entire day. after ssp lost it was almost like being at a funeral. compare that to the X! what a joke. bring it back to ridder and get some excitement in the air. i think the girls deserve a better environment, the X can't provide it and i don't think will ever be able to provide it.

HockeyDad42 · Post by **HockeyDad42** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 6:42 am

The parents need to quit the whinning and let the girls be the ones who decide if they like the X or not. Folks, get a life!

hubbaa · Post by **hubbaa** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 6:55 am

dad, you're right. if it wasn't for these parents that you talk about they wouldn't be at the X.

mnhockeygal · Post by **mnhockeygal** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 7:20 am

Well sais by all of you. How embarrassing - no electric atmosphere, playoff tension, nothing. You would have had no clue in the world it was a state tourney had you not known ahead of time. Its shameful how a select group of people can ruin something as they have. This is the world we live in. Political correct crap, and ensuring everything in this entire world is equal and fair has replaced common sense. Its made many things better and change is always necessary. However, the lengths taken and more importantly the things that are now worried about that do not need worrying about, is simply out of control.

hubbaa · Post by **hubbaa** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 7:32 am

hockeygal, i think i will have to threaten to sue the state high school league for discriminating against the speech teams. don't you think they should have their tourney at the X also? boy, these kids must be torn apart because of this great injustice. after they start performing at the X in front of 40 people i will have to take up the cause for the adopted floor hockey teams. a new billion dollar venue is on the agenda for them...

IGiveBlood · Post by **IGiveBlood** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 7:46 am

I disagree with all of the above about the venue not being right. I was also at all of the games yesterday and loved it and my daughter loved it. We have been going to the state tournament for several years and we talked about the comparisons. I talked with quite a few of the players and they loved the facility and the chance to get to play there and these were players that have played at Ridder at state. Also noted, one of the parents I was with thought that the food was alot better.

hubbaa · Post by **hubbaa** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 8:14 am

blood, we heard the same thing when it went to the fair grounds and then to ridder. i guarantee we will hear the same things when it changes venues again.

mnhockeygal · Post by **mnhockeygal** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 9:07 am

So its ok because the food is better? I wont argue m,any things may be a little better, however, there is no disputing the atmosphere is completely differnt - no noise, no crowd feel or emotion since is all spread out, just no "playoff" atmosphere. Sad.

coachcorner · Post by **coachcorner** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 9:46 am

I was not there so can you tell me did they have the lights going and the music just like at the Wild games. If not that would be sad. That would help pump up the crowd. I still like the idea. Its for the girls not us the parents.

Zamman · Post by **Zamman** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 10:40 am

I too have to disagree. I enjoyed the games yesterday at the X. I also agree that the tournament should still be at Ridder, because the girls state tournament is not as popular as the boys. I am not saying it is worse than the boys, just not as big yet. I thought the people in attendance were vocal and the games I watched were very good. All four schools in the afternoon had bands and I did not see anything negative. Topping this was 2 games, I was there only in the afternnon, that were well played and fun to watch from a fan standpoint. ________________________________ Academy of Holy Angels 2005 GIRLS STATE CHAMPS! 2002 & 2005 BOYS STATE CHAMPS!! GO STARS!!

hubbaa · Post by **hubbaa** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 11:15 am

zam, i don't know if anyone says the experience was negative. anytime we have a hockey game going on regardless of the surroundings it is a positive. i think it is more about the experience, for everyone. not just the players, coaches but one has to take into consideration the fans also. sure the kids are playing the game but the value for all involved should be what is considered above anything else. i think we have several venues in the state that would be much better than the X. people on here always talk about the girls game growing and in the future it will draw many more fans (something i don't think will ever happen), if that is really what they want why not introduce alternate rotating sites around the state. why not duluth, st cloud, bemidji, rochester etc? what we have now compared to the past is a very sterile, empty, boring atmosphere. the kids and the game deserve something better than this. sure they like it now because it is different, just as they would with rotating venues.

ghshockeyfan · Post by **ghshockeyfan** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 11:16 am

ghshockeyfan Registered Member Posts: 4561 (2/24/06 11:07 am) Reply | Edit Re: TV coverage -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Years ago (2000-1) my team won the first girls HS game played in the X. We couldn't even fill one section had we wanted to. The experience was amazing for the kids, but after the awe wore off it was a little empty. Now, that was a HS regular season game for a St. Paul City Conf. serioes played by the conf. teams (boys & girls)... The State tourney must be 100x better, and there's no way we even had 1000 in there let alone 3-4000. The experience of this being a state tournament too adds to this, and I hope the atmosphere is wonderful! I've heard mixed reviews so far, and while I personally was for this move in 2000, but against it more recently, I agree that I need to reserve judgement for now... I do believe that a seeded tourney may have heped the attendance, and contrary to popular opinion I believe that televising the games would help get more people out as some just don't know about how much the game has improved. I also think the importance of TV is more about mainstreaming the game in the minds of the general public. The more that we show that this game is an exciting, safe, and normal choice for young girls, the better we grow the sport.

Zamman · Post by **Zamman** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 12:50 pm

hubbaa you wrote: " zam, i don't know if anyone says the experience was negative. anytime we have a hockey game going on regardless of the surroundings it is a positive." And then you wrote: "what we have now compared to the past is a very sterile, empty, boring atmosphere. the kids and the game deserve something better than this." Is this not talking about it negatively? Just wondering. ________________________________ Academy of Holy Angels 2005 GIRLS STATE CHAMPS! 2002 & 2005 BOYS STATE CHAMPS!! GO STARS!!Edited by: <A HREF=http://p100.ezboard.com/bmnhs.showUserP ... >Zamman</A> at: 2/24/06 12:51 pm

hubbaa · Post by **hubbaa** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 1:07 pm

zam, big difference between the experience itself and comparing it to the past..... you're trying to combine two different things into one. Edited by: <A HREF=http://p100.ezboard.com/bmnhs.showUserP ... >hubbaa</A> at: 2/24/06 1:08 pm

FightCadetsFight · Post by **FightCadetsFight** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 3:29 pm

A couple thoughts. First, DAD, I think everyone who has posted on this board actually has a life; and girls hockey is a significant part of it during the hockey season. As far as the girls liking the X; who doesn't like the X? Blood, you mentioned that you loved the first day. What exactly did you love about the experience? The ability to sit anywhere? never having to stand up to see the action? ability to actually hear the coaches taliking to their players and barking at the referees? Or just being at the X? Zamman (who has definitely seen his share of exciting fan-filled hockey games) saw nothing negative about his experience; quite an endorsement. It seems that the pro X folks are more interested in providing an "opportunity" to play at the X. The other side seems to be more interested in having the tournament become special like the boys. IMO this should include noise, excitement, sell-out crowds, loud bands; and leaving the arena feeling that you saw something that you will remember for a long time.

puckboy · Post by **puckboy** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 3:52 pm

the X does rent ice if that is all people are looking for<img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/smile.gif ALT=":)"> the tournament should be a Ridder!!! The best ladies rink in the US!!- Not sure why anyone would want it any other place.

hockeydad · Post by **hockeydad** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 4:26 pm

I was covering the NP-Warroad game today. From teh press box, looking to the opposite side, the Warroad side of the stands were nearly empty, but the New Prague side did a pretty good job of filling in the seats. Of course, Warroad is a much smaller community and the drive is a lot longer. However, when I was shooting photos from ice level, between the two benches and opposite the New Prague side, it seemed a lot different. Yes, the noise level was down from when it was at Ridder, but I was concentrating on the game and not hte crowd noise, and from that standpoint, it was a hockey game, just like any other. I didn't notice the crowd last year at Ridder, nor did I notice it much today. I talked to some of the NP girls after the game about the rink. They seemed to think it was a great experience. they loved hte ice and they loved the building. One more thing to keep in mind. The MSHSL is getting use of the building rent free for the next three years. I think this is an opportunity to build a tradition. If you care for HS hockey, especially HS girls hockey, don't sit on your but at home, go in and fill in the seats.

mnpokecheck · Post by **mnpokecheck** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 4:58 pm

Yes a lovely building - everytime at the X I'm impressed. And with enough people it may someday approach an atmosphere that will be state tournament worthy. It seemed much better than the consolation game atmosphere at Mariucci in the past. But, predictably no where near what the Ridder has been. My hope would be that schools competing would feel at least the atmosphere of playing against you most revered rival in a league or section game. You know the kind of game that you can't wait to see and hear. Fans roaring every touch of the puck, bands trying to outplay each other, packed in elbow to elbow - you leave going wow. Instead the X seemed nice and social and non-wow.

mnhockeygal · Post by **mnhockeygal** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 9:00 pm

I just cant get over how completely silly this whole thing is. SSP is going to a 4th title game in 5 years and it was like a reg season game vs Tartan. No excitement, no pulse, no charge from crowd, no noise, no nothing. A total and wasteful shame. Its pathetic and sad people have to whine and cry their way to "improve" something (or should we say ruin it?). I saw 4 section semi final games at fricken Parade ice arena and there is NO DOUBT every single one of them was 3 times the electricity, crowd noise, playoff atmossphere than the 4 games I have seen at X. Totally sickening.

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