An ice hockey fan gives the lowdown on cheering your team to victory.

Every Geneseo athletics event includes cheering fans, from classmates, friends, and family members to residents who pull on their favorite team garb and chant, “GEN-UH-SEE-OH” until they are hoarse. We have a passionate community that supports all who compete in the Blue and White.

The Blue Crew, the enthusiastic, chest-painted fans in the student section of the Wilson Ice Arena, are well known for getting the crowd energized with their chants and cheers. The Blue Crew is not an official club — they are a loosely organized group of students who have fun by getting the crowd pumped up and cheering for the Ice Knights at home games.

Zach McGarvey ’18, a political science and communication major, is seasoned in the art of fandom and can be found in the stands next to the Blue Crew at every home hockey game.

Blue crew is the engine that gets the crowd going at the home hockey games,” McGarvey says. “The better the opposition is, the louder we get.”

We love to identify the opposing team’s game-changing players,” says McGarvey, “and try to get them off their game.” If opposing players get sent to the penalty box, he says, “it can be a long two minutes, for sure, but, it’s a family environment, so we keep the cheers — and jeers — appropriate.”

One of the Blue Crew’s mottos is to “be loud, be proud, be positive.”

BE A FAN AMONG FANS

10 tips from Zach McGarvey ’18

1. Own some apparel. Sporting your team’s colors shows passion.

2. Know the home game schedule.

3. Attend as a group. No need to arrive with painted chests and lead chants, but do get friends together and attend home games!

4. Know the team chants and fight song.

5. Know the players. The best fans know the coaching staff, too.

6. Know your opponents. It’s fun to know the opposing teams, but it’s more fun when you know the players.

7. Share team trivia with your friends. If they start to know things about your team, then you’re doing something right!

8. Good fans know their team’s arch-rivals. The Yankees don’t like the Red Sox, the Jets don’t like the Patriots, and Geneseo doesn’t like Cortland.

9. Do not be a bandwagon fan. Stick with your team when they’re struggling.

10. Most importantly, being a good fan is to show class and good sportsmanship. Win and lose with grace.