The men’s hockey team at Iowa State is a shining example of Cyclone success. The hockey team has a 29- year history of a winning tradition with first-class athletes, coaches and fans among the league, campus and community.

The Ames/ISU Ice Arena is the home of Cyclone hockey games. It is owned by the university and run by the City of Ames. It seems to me certain individuals from the city who run the arena would like to see Cyclone hockey disappear and are doing everything possible to discourage the success of the arena and the program.

Those individuals refer to Cyclone hockey games as “a big party place,” where excessive drinking and vulgar cheers are condoned and encouraged.

It seems as if these people are trying to condemn and punish the hockey program instead of compromise and encourage its success. If those people running the arena attended every game for the past few years like I have, they would feel very foolish about their assumptions.

Perhaps students and families attend Cyclone hockey games for the growing love of the sport and cheer for a team with a No.1 national ranking. Perhaps students and other adults of legal age want to have a beer while they watch the game. At $2.50 a glass, believe me, students are not going to be drinking very much when the local bars are practically giving it away.

What about those vulgar cheers? Sure, you can hear them when the pep band isn’t playing or the cheersquad isn’t cheering or the music and announcer over the P.A. isn’t blaring.

The hockey program doesn’t encourage vulgar cheers, but what can you do when a sold-out crowd is crammed into an arena not built for spectators?

There should not be so much negative attention put on the sale of beer or vulgar cheers because there are so many positive attractions at hockey games that outweigh the negatives.

For the individuals from the city who run the arena and refer to Cyclone hockey games as “party time,” they are right. It’s a time for stressed-out students, families and dedicated fans to celebrate a winning hockey team that will never reflect anything but pride and success in many Cyclone eyes.

Holly Fuller

Graduate student

Sports management