Letters to the Sports Desk:
Saturday Night at Lynah Rink—the scene was beautiful. As I walked through the doors and made my way to my seat I was overjoyed to find the smell of crisp ice and the murmur of the excited Lynah Faithful. However as the game continued, I was horrified to find that there was one thing about the Cornell hockey experience that was just plain wrong: the cowbell.
If you have ever been to a Cornell hockey game, you should be familiar with the cowbell fight cheer. Every year the role of cowbell boy is passed down to a new person for the new season at Lynah. We all expect the cowbell at the first game to be a little off—generally due to nerves or inexperience.
However, this year’s first attempt at the cowbell was so devoid of anything that could remotely resemble rhythm, we must take time to ask ourselves: Is this the result of some elementary school music teacher’s blunder or evidence of the fact that cowbell boy disrespects the Lynah faithful so much to neglect practicing his role altogether?
It was with this disappointed mindset that I stumbled upon the latest installment of cowbell boy’s column, “Give My Regards to Davy.” After reading his analysis of the game, I had a completely new question: Was he even at the same game? Don’t get me wrong—cowbell boy made some good points, but he fails to give credit where credit is due.
For example, cowbell boy discusses the “magical” playing ability of Colin Greening and Riley Nash. True. Greening and Nash are amazing players, as we can see from the volume of goals scored by these players last season, but they were by no means the stars of Saturday’s game. There were other players on the ice who played a quality game of hockey, and cowbell boy appears to remain blind to their accomplishments.
Throughout the article, cowbell boy is quick to give out his expert criticism of players, but completely fails to mention the growth that many players have made since last season. What about Tyler Roezsler’s goal, or the constant ferocity that Evan Barlow brought to the ice? It is great that cowbell boy can recognize the fan favorites for a good game, but it would be nice if he could also recognize the rest for what they bring to Cornell hockey as well.
But, honestly, his column isn’t a game recap (although most of it sounded like one), and certainly cowbell boy has a right to his own opinions about hockey and the team. However, I have a few requests for him.
Never ever refer to Ben Scrivens, Michael Garman, or any other Cornell goalie as a sieve. Ever. As a Lynah faithful, you can recognize blunders of the team, but if you could do so with a little less smugness and a little more respect—that would be great.
And next time, learn to play the cowbell.