When women’s ice hockey was still a club sport at small colleges and the number of fans in attendance rarely reached double-digits, some ambitious students turned it into a legend at Wesleyan. Members of the class of ’97 began a tradition of extreme cheering and heckling at women’s ice hockey games in 1994 that lasted until their graduation—and whose anniversary they will return to celebrate at the Wesleyan-Williams game this Saturday.
Christian Housh ’97 spearheaded the effort, which began as a group of students attending several sporting events and performing a repertoire of elaborate antics to cheer Wesleyan on. When they discovered women’s ice hockey, Housh said, they knew that was where they wanted to focus their efforts.
“It’s really action-packed, and it’s in an arena, so everything you yell and say gets reverberated that much more,” Housh said. “As a spectacle, there’s a level of irony in cheering for women’s ice hockey. It’s not something you expect to see. Most of the games had six or seven fans, so by going, we’d triple or quadruple the crowd.”
From then on, the group, which consisted of 4 – 5 core members with as many as 50 – 60 supporters, attended every home game. Since their graduation in 1997, they have returned every year for the Wesleyan-Williams game, and plan to bring a larger crowd on Saturday because it marks the tradition’s tenth anniversary.
Cheering strategies run the full gamut from holding birthday parties for the opposing team’s goalies, complete with cake, to displaying a 16-by-8-foot sign that reads “WUSSY”—an acronym for “Wesleyan University Students Support You.” Andrew Frishman ’97 said that before Williams games, they often make gallons of purple milk which they distribute in cups, chanting “let’s milk Williams.”
“Look at the New York Jets. What do they do? Shout J-E-T-S? If they had some of the stuff we’ve got going on, it would blow the whole thing wide open,” Frishman said.
The group chose the Williams-Wesleyan game as their yearly return date partly because of heated experiences with Williams fans. Housh recalled a goalie with a long last name the group latched onto and shouted throughout one game. The goalie called the referee to report them.
“[She] apparently had never experienced what it was to be a goalie, which is to be taunted,” Housh said. “Before [she called the referee], it wasn’t as exciting. Afterward, we started a fan club for her, and started bringing her things, like flowers and t-shirts.”
According to Frishman, at one of the group’s anniversary games, a Williams student approached Frishman and began to swear at him.
“I said, ‘thank you for your feedback, it’s really valuable. Would you like to fill out a feedback form? It didn’t seem out of the realm of possibility to her. [Christian] gave me a napkin and this exciting pen you could click and light up.”
The returned napkin read, “You guys are shitheads. And your school sucks. Do you even go to Wesleyan? Because you look sort of old and townie-ish.” As a result, on Saturday, the group will have a cheering stick from East Providence High School, whose mascot is the Townies, as well as official feedback forms.
According to Robin Woodworth ’97, who played on the women’s ice hockey team during Housh and Frishman’s time at Wesleyan, the whole team looked forward to seeing them at home games, and their presence contributed to the team’s increasing fan base.
“I’m sure there were a few visiting fans who may have been a little horrified at times, but that’s what made it so funny,” Woodworth said. “After a while it seemed they even rallied more fans to come to our games. In fact, by my senior year, we had packed houses for big games against Williams or Amherst.”
Frishman and Housh said the goal of their antics is ultimately enjoyment for both teams, and their cheering is always in good taste.
“We’ve read all the rules about NCAA cheering and we not only comply with the letter of the law, but the spirit,” Frishman said. “It’s much more about the absurd, the non-sequitur thing. We don’t heckle. We cheer and support our team.”
While at Wesleyan, Housh challenged student expectations through art as well as his activity at hockey games. One project involved posting over 2,000 photocopied images of a drawing of a sheep with the word “SHEEP” written beneath it throughout campus. Currently, he continues to make art in the Boston area and has a studio in South Boston.
“To me, the beauty of Wesleyan is that it is a place that encourages discourse and invites debate,” Housh said. “The campus is ready to be challenged and engaged, and challenging and engaging the campus was the thing I enjoyed the most about my time here.”
One of the reasons the group returns every year, according to Housh, is the possibility of inspiring current students to take up their tradition.
“We like the idea of carrying on traditions and keeping up the wacky, zany Wesleyan spirit,” Housh said.
Women’s ice hockey coach Donna Wright heard about the group’s plans to return in an e-mail from Housh.
“I am delighted,” Wright said. “His enthusiasm and wit entertain the crowd and I know the Wesleyan fans enjoy his antics.”
At one of the last games Housh attended while a student at Wesleyan, an angry Williams student cornered him and asked how he would like being heckled at his graduation ceremony.
“I said it would be awesome,” Housh said. He added regretfully: “But they never came.” Housh works as the Director of Communications for Exploration Summer Programs, which operates academic enrichment programs on several college campuses. Frishman currently teaches at the Met Center in Providence.
Leave a Reply