Waiting for Cornell hockey tickets has never been more fun

By Olivia Dwyer

Schoellkopf Stadium was half-empty for the football game during Cornell's Homecoming Weekend, and on-field chatter echoed over the empty seats at soccer and field hockey games. But one Cornell sports venue will be filled to capacity this season. More than 1,200 Cornell undergraduate students spent 20 hours over the weekend camping out for men's hockey season tickets.

The Ramin Room in Bartels Hall after students called it home for almost 24 hours. Matt Hintsa/Cornell Daily Sun

By Sunday afternoon, the Ramin Room in Bartels Hall looked like the living quarters of most students across campus: pizza boxes and takeout bags overflowed from trash cans; pillows and blankets were thrown every which way; extension cords snaked across the artificial turf from outlets to laptop computers and a single TV, where a group played Madden. From 10 p.m. Saturday until 6 p.m. Sunday, more than 1,200 Cornell students called the Ramin Room home, sleeping, eating and living in The Line for the chance to buy hockey season tickets.

"It makes you wonder: Are you a true fan?" said sophomore C.J. Slicklen. "It's good. It's a tradition, and lots of schools don't have that anymore, [so it] is awesome that they keep that here."

This year, like every other, the ritual of doing time in The Line brought together fans of all stripes -- from senior Ari Baum, who has missed only five games total in his four years as a Cornell student, to freshman Kevin Ballentine, whose first love was football.

"I'm from the Midwest, and the only hockey out there is roller hockey," Ballentine said. "But I'm used to extremely rowdy football games, and this is the only way to get that here."

Ballentine's attitude was echoed by many students in line who pointed out that the men's hockey games are the only sporting events at the school with sold-out crowds.

"The cheering section is like nothing else," said senior Christine Tschiderer. "I think it's the only sport at Cornell where you can feel like you're at a big sports school."

Even for Cornellians who didn't plan to become fans, the lure of Lynah Rink proved irresistible.

"I didn't really expect or want sports to be a big part of my college experience, but if you want to see competitive Division I sports, this is it," said sophomore Tom Sosnowski.

Sosnowski was seated with classmate Jenny Murray in mesh-and-metal folding chairs, and the pair took a break from studying for a differential equations exam and an organic chemistry prelim, respectively, to reflect on how they arrived in this year's Line.

"[Murray] went to a few games with us [last year], and we got her hooked on it," Sosnowski said.

"I had no idea what it was going to be like [in The Line]," Murray said. "Sleeping here sucked, but other than that, it's been pretty fun."