In my lifetime, I have seen over 100 hockey games in person, from college hockey games to the NHL Stanley Cup finals, but the first two games of the men’s hockey season at RPI take the cake for the most discourteous show of team spirit I have ever seen.

Along with many fans sitting in sections 15 and 16, my view was blocked by a group that calls itself “The Red Army.” Its purpose is to promote school spirit, but at these particular events, it was nothing more than a nuisance. The group continued to stand throughout the game despite the constant pleas to sit down. I tried to be civil and talked to one of the members of the Red Army that I know. He left me with this: “If you get someone up here to complain, then we will sit down.” I took that to mean that the Red Army deliberately did not intend to be courteous.

Where does that leave the unlucky group that happened to purchase season tickets behind the Red Army? We are unable to see the corner of the rink where the most exciting and action-filled plays happen. I think this is unfair. I paid for my tickets, too. Our Division I hockey program is one of the reasons I am here and not at RIT. When I applied to colleges, RIT had a D-III hockey program. In past years, I have been to every D-I men’s hockey game that I could attend, missing only six games in total over my three years as a student here. I am very disappointed that the hockey experience that I have always been fond of is now much harder to enjoy because I can’t even see the game.

In last week’s Poly, Grand Marshal Carlos Perea called the fans who asked the Red Army to sit down “fans of laziness.” I take that as an insult. Just because I am not willing to stand for the entire game does not make me a fan of laziness. That is preposterous. I choose to respect the fans around me and not block their view for the entire game.

The Red Army members need to realize that they are not the only ones who are rooting for our Engineers. There are plenty of fans in sections 15 and 16 who are also cheering for the Engineers and want to show their team spirit in a different way. The Red Army needs to sit down, respect the other fans at the games, and realize that its way of showing team spirit is not the only way to do it.

Todd Feathers