Let's face it, fans of the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds have never had it so good, with a nationally ranked team coming off a national title in 2007 and a near miss at the nationals last season after a record-smashing season in the Atlantic Conference.
Tommies fans, by their very definition, are annoyed by that. They look at those "dirty squirrels" sitting atop the perch that is the Atlantic Conference yet again, exasperated by the fact their guys can't win for trying and are essentially out of a playoff spot with about a month left in the schedule.
They lament because the Battle of the Hill has become a mere skirmish for the V-Reds who haven't lost to their arch-rivals since October 2006, a stretch covering 17 games counting exhibitions.
It's fair to say there's no better rivalry in the conference when the two teams are competitive. There's a long history of packed crowds at both venues. I can still remember the chants: "Squirrels" from one side. "STU-pids'' from the other.
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Wednesday, 21 January 2009
Tommies' situation nowhere near as dire as were the Mounties
From the Daily Gleaner:
Hey Dave,
ReplyDeletenice to see your glass is half full, and your attempt to maintain a Tommie Program is half Hearted. The sucess of the mens team is dependent upon how much money they bring in and how much they win. The sucess of the women's team is dependent upon how much they spend for atheletes. Men are not filling the rink or winning, women are funded, perhaps more than any other women's team in the AUS. STU is a small liberal Arts College. In order for them to compete, they have to be able to put more funding on the line for their atheletes than other universities. In order to put more funding in their programs, they either need huge dollars from the student tution pot, or more from the loyal and faithful good old boys in the city. From that, you can conclude that if the old boys say good bye to the coach...it's good bye to the coach. Having said that, please continue to rally the minority. It gives us a blog to challenge. Perhaps you should comment on how many STU dollars are going into the new rink. That figure makes losing appear even more costly?