Ignoring the visiting lineup. (Eldon Lindsay / Cornell Athletics) Quizzes & Puzzles Language of Lynah: How Well Do You Know Your Hockey Chants? Test your knowledge of the traditional, full-throated, and … spicy vernacular of Big Red men’s games with these 12 questions! Difficulty level: Easy (for the Lynah Faithful) For everyone else: Very hard 1) When the opposing team is introduced, fans hold up newspapers and yell … Who cares? Blah, blah, blah … Boring! Breaking news—you’re gonna lose! None 2) What is typically shouted at the opposing team’s goalie? It’s all your fault! Sieve! Ugly! All of the above None 3) What is roared at an opposing player as they enter the penalty box? Enjoy your stay! See ya, you goon! Grin and BEAR it! Now think about what you’ve done! None 4) Historically, when the opposing fans would get a little too vocal, what would the Lynah Faithful yell at them? Section O sucks! Make like the ice, and CHILL! We see RED! Please stop shouting! None 5) What instrument from the pep band plays the melody to which fans scream “Hey [team name], DIEEEEEEEEEE!” Saxophones Trumpets Clarinets Sousaphones None 6) What is chanted when the Big Red find themselves on the wrong side of a power play? Hold on! Hold on! De-fense! Kill, Red, kill! We don’t need five! None 7) Toward the end of a game, when Cornell is in the lead, the crowd chants “warm up the bus” while waving what in the air? Hats Car keys Scarves Middle fingers None 8) Halfway through the second and third periods, a devoted fan in the crowd plays the cowbell while everyone around him yells what? Win! Kill! Score! Fight! None 9) What special thing do fans do during the singing of the National Anthem? Shout “RED!” during “and the rockets’ red glare” Shout “C!” during “oh say can you see” Shout “BEAR!” instead of “glare” during “and the rockets’ red glare” Shout “FIGHT” instead of “light” during “dawn’s early light” None 10) What rival university is cited in the chant “Screw [blank], [current opposing team] too!” Harvard Boston Colgate Clarkson None 11) Fans chant “safety school!” to what rivals? All other Ivies Those they consider to be academically inferior Only Harvard Literally everyone None 12) When fans think an official has missed a call, what do they yell? Hey ref, are you awake? Give us a break! I’m blind, I’m deaf, I wanna be a ref! Oh look, oh look, he dropped the rule book! You’re way too late, you can’t even skate! None Time’s up (Top: Photo by Eldon Lindsay / Cornell Athletics) Published November 12, 2025 Comments alan schulman, Class of 1945 13 Nov, 2025 Go Big Red Reply Karen Rich Shellenback, Class of 1991 13 Nov, 2025 I am an alumna women’s ice hockey team member and I didn’t know a few. Oh well. Haven’t been on Lynah ice in 35 or so years Reply Michelle Stone, Class of 1991 14 Nov, 2025 11 out of 12! Reply ErinSheehan, Class of 1990 18 Nov, 2025 12 out of 12. I may watch too much college hockey! Reply Sandman, Class of 2008 18 Nov, 2025 Saaaaaaaaaafety quiz Reply Bruce Tatusko, Class of 1972 18 Nov, 2025 In the 60’s and 70’s, we shouted, “SIEVE! SIEVE” “It’s all your fault” came much later. Reply Adam Friedman, Class of 1988 25 Nov, 2025 A lot of chants and the like seem to have been retired. The “Harvard-Rah” chant. The “sssssssssssieve”. The best one I remember was that after a load of typically terrible calls, which led to chants of “bull***t” and similar from a packed house, the refs made the PA tell the students to knock it off, or something would happen (I don’t recall what). After the next terrible call, the entire place spontaneously chanted “we beg to differ”. 40 years later, I’m still cracking up. Reply Steve Boedo 25 Nov, 2025 The first time I heard “it’s all your fault” was against Dartmouth in the 1984-85 season. I think we scored about 5 or 6 goals in about 10 minutes, and the Dartmouth coach wouldn’t pull the goalie. After about the 5th goal, someone in Section A leaned over the glass (which was a lot lower then) and started yelling “it’s all your fault” which continued until they finally pulled the poor guy. Reply Stuart Baron, Class of 1982 19 Nov, 2025 I got 11 of 12, and I saw more games at Yale’s Ingalls Rink over the years than at Lynah. Reply Jeff Hopkins, Class of 1982 25 Nov, 2025 I started a couple of these cheers. I’d better have gotten them all right. Reply Leave a Comment Cancel replyOnce your comment is approved, your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Class Year Email * Save my name, email, and class year in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ Other stories You may like Alumni Alum Scores as Team Owner in First Women’s Pro Volleyball League Campus & Beyond Institute of Politics and Global Affairs Wrestles with Today’s Thorniest Issues Alumni From Player to Head Coach: Alum Leads Big Red Men’s Lacrosse