Devils getting rid of R&R part 2 as their goal song?

[TheMazz]

But, we're not talking about "you suck" by itself. We're talking about the "Flyers Swallow and Gomez watches" suffix of it. Or, any other kind of F-bomb involved when you have a person yelling it every other word sitting next to a 5 year old,.

 

That I agree should be montitored more. The chant that comes from the goal song is more or less "you suck" all by itself. I'm for rowdy behavior but I personally never liked the Flyers swallow, Crosby/Gomez watches chant. THAT'S lowbrow. Not "Hey You Suck".

[NewarkDevil5]

But, we're not talking about "you suck" by itself (FWIW...the Devils are lying to you in regards to it being "offensive", it was canned due to the immaturity factor....just my opinion).

 

We're talking about the "Flyers Swallow and....Gomez watches" version of it. Or, any other kind of F-bombs involved when you have a person yelling it every other word sitting next to a 5 year old. What kids do among their peers is one thing. Kids love to play monkey see-monkey do (apparently so do Devils fans), but to have a grown adult is another.

 

I thought it was Avery pays for it, but that might be a dated version of the chant.

[Devil Dan 56]

I wonder how many other fanbases are this attached to their goal songs.  I liked R&R Part 2, many of the Devils' best and most memorable moments are punctuated by it...but damn, I never expected fans to freak out over it THIS much...granted, part of it is stemming from the very corporate way this was handled (no matter how you look at this, Devils did fire the first salvo here...if they had done initially what they're doing NOW, this could've been considerably less painful), but they've at least tried to go about the change in a better manner now.  Some franchises would've pretended not to hear. 

 

I don't even know what it is anymore that people are so freaked out about.  Losing the song?  Not being able to say "you suck"?  The initial way the song was sacked?  Just hating the idea of being dictated to, on any level, and this is their way of saying "We're not going to take it anymore"? 

 

And yeah, the fact that many fans are going to be pissed after the Devils score...life at the Devils' games is going to feel very alternate-universe for a while.   

 

I think a lot of people are mad about the 'you suck' aspect. It was a loud chant and a lot of people enjoyed it. I was never a fan of it, but people liked it. And it was nice hearing something chanted by that much of the arena. A lot of the older fans here remember what a morgue CAA could be, so I guess I appreciate crowd noise even if it is childish.

 

I think another reason is because this is pretty much the first decision of a new ownership. When new owners come in, the fan base is naturally going to be on the lookout for if they are going to make it 'their team'. I think this was probably a terrible first choice of fights to have, and the way they did it was very 'my team, FU.' Fans want to know if it's going to be an owner to love, like many did with Vanderbeek, or an owner to hate, like McMullen in the late 90's after the near Nashville move.

 

I think those are the 2 main schools of thought, and plenty of people are of both beliefs. Personally, I loved the song because of the history of it with the organization, from being the Rockies victory song to the Devils goal song through 3 cups. I could easily enough ignore the 'you suck'. But maybe its run its course.

 

As for whiny parents, whatever. If that's what they want to complain about, fine. It's their prerogative. The kid probably heard worse from his father stuck in Newark traffic on the way to the game, but that's a different argument.

[Chuck the Duck]

I grew up in the 80's. The 90's is kindergarten in comparison. 

 

You can definitely tell who are not parents. When/if that time comes you'll be able to relate better. You can't have your children in a bubble, but you can't have people running around acting with total disregard towards children and public places. 

 

I have 2 young children and you're absolutely right.  You can't protect them from everything, and should be able to talk to your children and explain certain things to them.  Generally, I find most of the people sitting around me aren't too bad with the language.  However, when someone starts going off, and my 5 year old starts asking questions, I explain the situation and my expectations that he doesn't conduct himself in that manner.  He listens because, if he didn't, I'd punish him.

 

As far as the "you suck" chant, I generally didn't have a problem with my son doing it.  For example, early in the 2012 season, I brought my him to a game and the Devils scored.  He's cheering and clapping along with the goal song and I caught him do the "Hey...you suck" for the first time.  He immediately knew what he said was wrong and looked at me with the "I'm sorry...please don't punish me" look.  I could have scolded him, but instead I explained to him that it was a chant at a sporting event and what it actually meant (suck = stink).  I then proceeded to tell him that it was ok to chant at the Devils game because, as a parent, I didn't feel like this was a big deal.  That was my choice as a parent, and everyone must raise their child as they see fit.  He was cool with that and, to this day, he will only say it while at the games.   

 

Also, I love how entrenched the Devils ownership is with this.  They obviously underestimated the reaction that they would get with this change.  A large part of me wants to just move on at this point.  But I can't say it won't be interesting to see if they will ultimately cave to the overwhelming public sentiment if the objections to the new goal songs persist as the season moves along.  No matter what, I think it is safe to say that any goodwill they came into this situation with after purchasing the team from JVB is largely gone.  Not a great start to the Harris/Blitzer regime from a fan relation/PR perspective, that's for sure.

I thought it was Avery pays for it, but that might be a dated version of the chant.

 

I believe it was "Avery gives a reach around, Crosby watches, and Henrik cleans up afterwards" ... or something to that effect.  Just ridiculous.

[TheMazz]

I have 2 young children and you're absolutely right.  You can't protect them from everything, and should be able to talk to your children and explain certain things to them.  Generally, I find most of the people sitting around me aren't too bad with the language.  However, when someone starts going off, and my 5 year old starts asking questions, I explain the situation and my expectations that he doesn't conduct himself in that manner.  He listens because, if he didn't, I'd punish him.

 

As far as the "you suck" chant, I generally didn't have a problem with my son doing it.  For example, early in the 2012 season, I brought my him to a game and the Devils scored.  He's cheering and clapping along with the goal song and I caught him do the "Hey...you suck" for the first time.  He immediately knew what he said was wrong and looked at me with the "I'm sorry...please don't punish me" look.  I could have scolded him, but instead I explained to him that it was a chant at a sporting event and what it actually meant (suck = stink).  I then proceeded to tell him that it was ok to chant at the Devils game because, as a parent, I didn't feel like this was a big deal.  That was my choice as a parent, and everyone must raise their child as they see fit.  He was cool with that and, to this day, he will only say it while at the games.   

 

Also, I love how entrenched the Devils ownership is with this.  They obviously underestimated the reaction that they would get with this change.  A large part of me wants to just move on at this point.  But I can't say it won't be interesting to see if they will ultimately cave to the overwhelming public sentiment if the objections to the new goal songs persist as the season moves along.  No matter what, I think it is safe to say that any goodwill they came into this situation with after purchasing the team from JVB is largely gone.  Not a great start to the Harris/Blitzer regime from a fan relation/PR perspective, that's for sure.

 

I believe it was "Avery gives a reach around, Crosby watches, and Henrik cleans up afterwards" ... or something to that effect.  Just ridiculous.

 

Never heard all of that. I heard Crosby watches when it was Pens games but never the other two.

[ATLL765]

Man why are people so attached to R&Rpt2? Not only have we used it forever but it's been used to death in just about every other sport. It's not original at all anymore and IMO it's played out.

Because it's ALWAYS been the goal song. I've said this a few times, but in sports, people HATE HATE HATE HATE change. This is no different. Part of the appeal is that going to a game really isn't that different than it was 10 years ago, aside from the new arena and all that. It's still the same game and people love having that kind of constant in their life.

While this, clearly is a huge overreaction, R&R Pt 2 is tradition in this franchise and I really think a majority would want to see it stay and not just to yell you suck, as I believe those complaining for that reason are in the minority.

[ATLL765]

I grew up in the 80's. The 90's is kindergarten in comparison. 

 

You can definitely tell who are not parents. When/if that time comes you'll be able to relate better. You can't have your children in a bubble, but you can't have people running around acting with total disregard towards children and public places. 

Oh please. Some of my earliest memories as a child are my cousin letting me play Mortal Kombat because my Mom refused to buy it. I GUARANTEE that 99% of children who are attending Devils games, have heard MUCH worse. And plus, if you sit not in the 200s or just don't go when it's super cheap $20 college a$$hole night, you'll be fine anyways.

It's not that I don't understand your point, as I will temper my language if there's kids around, I'll still jeer the opposing team, but I'm not gonna drop f bombs, but kids aren't being scarred or exposed to something they haven't already been exposed to when they hear the word "suck", so unless the goal is to eliminate all dirty words from being spoken, how is the goal of protecting the children being achieved?

[Devilsfan118]

Calling the CAA a morgue is a compliment - you could hear a pin drop in that place when the Devils were up defending a one goal lead in the 3rd.

 

And call me naive, but I've always said "You Suck" with the understanding that "suck" in this sense was merely a more severe form of "stink".  How on earth could saying a sports team sucks be interpreted sexually?  Might be one of those cases where those who are most offended by it need to get their own minds out of the gutter.

 

But I do agree that the "Flyers Suck, Gomez swallows.." etc chants are excessive.  The "Rangers suck" whistle at least has some remote form of history behind it.  The chants following it are just excessive.  Although, from my experiences, the whistle chants are dying out or at least occurring a lot less frequently than previously.  Unless I've just been to some unique games as of late.

 

[Jerzey]

Because it's ALWAYS been the goal song. I've said this a few times, but in sports, people HATE HATE HATE HATE change. This is no different. Part of the appeal is that going to a game really isn't that different than it was 10 years ago, aside from the new arena and all that. It's still the same game and people love having that kind of constant in their life.

While this, clearly is a huge overreaction, R&R Pt 2 is tradition in this franchise and I really think a majority would want to see it stay and not just to yell you suck, as I believe those complaining for that reason are in the minority.

 

 

I gotta say I don't think it was the goal song when I started watching (around 1988). I remember being happy when they started using R&Rpt2. I think the Kings actually used it first for some reason. Can't tell you what they used before that though. 

[TheMazz]

Calling the CAA a morgue is a compliment - you could hear a pin drop in that place when the Devils were up defending a one goal lead in the 3rd.

 

And call me naive, but I've always said "You Suck" with the understanding that "suck" in this sense was merely a more severe form of "stink".  How on earth could saying a sports team sucks be interpreted sexually?  Might be one of those cases where those who are most offended by it need to get their own minds out of the gutter.

 

But I do agree that the "Flyers Suck, Gomez swallows.." etc chants are excessive.  The "Rangers suck" whistle at least has some remote form of history behind it.  The chants following it are just excessive.  Although, from my experiences, the whistle chants are dying out or at least occurring a lot less frequently than previously.  Unless I've just been to some unique games as of late.

 

 

This.

 

I mean if fans want the Rock to be what the CAA was and what MSG and AIr Canada Centre are...by all means try and for that. Not gonna happen.

[ATLL765]

I gotta say I don't think it was the goal song when I started watching (around 1988). I remember being happy when they started using R&Rpt2. I think the Kings actually used it first for some reason. Can't tell you what they used before that though. 

I actually have no idea how long we've used it, but I was born in 90 and it's all I remember, besides the change several years ago, which was eventually aborted.

[Jerzey]

I actually have no idea how long we've used it, but I was born in 90 and it's all I remember, besides the change several years ago, which was eventually aborted.

 

I am old.

 

[Chuck the Duck]

I gotta say I don't think it was the goal song when I started watching (around 1988). I remember being happy when they started using R&Rpt2. I think the Kings actually used it first for some reason. Can't tell you what they used before that though. 

 

It was carried over from when we were the Colorado Rockies.  I believe that we were the first NHL franchise to use it as our goal song.  Basically, it has been with this team for most its 30+ years in NJ, outside of its banishment for a short while a few season back.  There might have been an alternate goal song in the 90's as well (I think I remember them using other songs if more than 2 goals were scored by the Devils back then), but R&R Part II was the goal song for 99% of our history.

[Jerzey]

It was carried over from when we were the Colorado Rockies.  I believe that we were the first NHL franchise to use it as our goal song.  Basically, it has been with this team for most its 30+ years in NJ, outside of its banishment for a short while a few season back.  There might have been an alternate goal song in the 90's as well (I think I remember them using other songs if more than 2 goals were scored by the Devils back then), but R&R Part II was the goal song for 99% of our history.

Yeah there must have been a portion of the early to mid 90's or even late 80's that they used a different song. Could not tell you what it was though.

[Devil Dan 56]

Yeah there must have been a portion of the early to mid 90's or even late 80's that they used a different song. Could not tell you what it was though.

 

They used it as a victory song in Colorado. I don't think many teams had goals songs until the late 80s, early 90s

[Mike Brown]

Personally they are right. 100% right. We are focusing on the wrong thing.My rep was spot on. What we should be getting rid of is the whistle chant, which is 10x more offensive then the phrase "You Suck!" You can defend "You Suck" by saying what it really is: A synonyme of the word stinks. But Flyers swallow? You can't do that. Regardless this is a HOCKEY game. Not Disneyland. I understand wanting to be family friendly but this is completely misguided.

How about cutting off beer sales after the FIRST period instead of the end of the second? I'm tried of having beers thrown at me, Seeing drunks pick fights and all this nonsense.That's what management should crack down on to make the experience better for all...not the goal song.

You know it's not exactly difficult to focus on both things. I also don't see how they can get rid of the whistle chant.

[NJDevs4978]

You know it's not exactly difficult to focus on both things. I also don't see how they can get rid of the whistle chant.

 

Well it's a little harder to get rid of that since it's fan-started and with random timing.  You basically have to start threatening and going through with ejections, and it's a little harder to eject 3/4 of the arena if everyone holds firm and does it.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

They used it as a victory song in Colorado. I don't think many teams had goals songs until the late 80s, early 90s

 

A DVD I have of a Rockies/Blues game from January 1982 (a Rockies 7-1 win) in Colorado features them playing the song after goals.  No goal horn of any kind though (hard to believe they didn't exist once upon a time)...just the red light behind the net, then R&R Part 2.

 

They also played it as the team was coming on the ice in each period. 

[Devil Dan 56]

A DVD I have of a Rockies/Blues game from January 1982 (a Rockies 7-1 win) in Colorado features them playing the song after goals.  No goal horn of any kind though (hard to believe they didn't exist once upon a time)...just the red light behind the net, then R&R Part 2.

 

They also played it as the team was coming on the ice in each period. 

 

First, thank you. I had always read it was for wins. Second, that sounds like an amazing DVD!!

[NJDEVS1730]

I'm glad it has a majority of the votes, it should. Fans hate change as it was said before...

 

Let me just take a quick pole though...if they were to bring it back, but only play it when the Devils were in the lead, or they took the lead with that goal, would you guys be open to that? I think it's a fair compromise...

[iamtheprodigy]

That I agree should be montitored more. The chant that comes from the goal song is more or less "you suck" all by itself. I'm for rowdy behavior but I personally never liked the Flyers swallow, Crosby/Gomez watches chant. THAT'S lowbrow. Not "Hey You Suck".

 

This is how I always felt about it. To me, telling the other team they suck (or rallying together to remind ourselves that the Rangers suck) is just good fun. I always interpreted "suck" to mean "are bad at hockey". When a handful of people would continue with the "Flyers swallow" and "Avery watches" or whatever else at the end, I always kind of cringed at that. It's just stupid, there's no reason to turn it into some kind of weird sexual analogy that doesn't even make sense. It's about the other team being bad and us being good. Leave it at that.

[95Crash]

A DVD I have of a Rockies/Blues game from January 1982 (a Rockies 7-1 win) in Colorado features them playing the song after goals.  No goal horn of any kind though (hard to believe they didn't exist once upon a time)...just the red light behind the net, then R&R Part 2.

 

They also played it as the team was coming on the ice in each period. 

 

Do you have any DVDs of any Devils games from the early/mid-Eighties?

 

I went to a bunch of games during the Devils first few seasons in New Jersey, but I can't remember if they even had a goal song back then.

 

The earliest Devils goal w/song included I found on YouTube is one from the 1991 playoffs in which they played RR Part 2.

[Devil Dan 56]

This is how I always felt about it. To me, telling the other team they suck (or rallying together to remind ourselves that the Rangers suck) is just good fun. I always interpreted "suck" to mean "are bad at hockey". When a handful of people would continue with the "Flyers swallow" and "Avery watches" or whatever else at the end, I always kind of cringed at that. It's just stupid, there's no reason to turn it into some kind of weird sexual analogy that doesn't even make sense. It's about the other team being bad and us being good. Leave it at that.

 

Yeah agreed. That long trailing thing about Crosby and whatever crosses from 'haha your team is bad' to an uncomfortable obsession with male-on-male relations pretty quickly...

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

First, thank you. I had always read it was for wins. Second, that sounds like an amazing DVD!!

 

I have a few DVDs of Rockies games, but home ones are hard to come by...that's the only home Rockies game I have...it was from an ESPN feed.  I have two more from Toronto (one win, one loss...one of them has Hardy Astrom starting, and he is every bit as bad as you may have heard), and another from LA (that one is brutal...a 10-3 loss...they were losing 2-0 before the game was even a minute old).  Kind of cool seeing Marcel Dionne in his prime though, and the purple-and-yellow Kings jerseys.  Also have the Rockies' (and franchise's) very first playoff game, a 3-2 OT loss to the Flyers in the Spectrum.  I think the Flyers came out pissed knowing that a team that won 19 games had somehow taken them to overtime...they ended the game in less than a minute.  Rockies' goalie Doug Favell played his ass off...think he made 42 saves.

 

What's great about Rockies-Blues DVD:

 

1) A lot of helmetless players.  And a lot of mustaches and poofy Ron Duguay-type hairstyles.  Kind of hard to believe people actually wanted to look like that on purpose.

2) A pretty good John Wensick fight (forget who he fought against at the moment).  I think Brent Ashton got into it with someone too.

3) Rockies whupped ass, which they pretty much never did (they won all of 18 games that season).  Bobby MacMillan scored four goals.  A line of Merlin Malinowski (who was playing himself into the doghouse after a breakout 1980-81 campaign...he'd be out of the league after the end of the 82-83 season), Don Lever, and MacMillan had a big day, tallying five of the Rockies' seven goals (Steve Tambellini and Brent Ashton scored the others).  Most of the hats thrown on the ice after MacMillan scored his third goal were cowboy hats. 

4) Great in-between-periods interview with Chico (he was suffering though his first full season with the Rockies, after having been dealt from the Islanders at the deadline the year before).  Really came off as stand-up and positive, though you could tell the constant losing was killing him.  He was asked about all of the rumors swirling about the Rockies' possible impending move (no one was sure where they were going to end up), and basically said it was on the players to not let it become a distraction, that no one was going to feel sorry for them. 

5) And of course, was great to hear R&R Part 2 being used as a goal song way before everyone else. 

 

 

Do you have any DVDs of any Devils games from the early/mid-Eighties?

 

I went to a bunch of games during the Devils first few seasons in New Jersey, but I can't remember if they even had a goal song back then.

 

The earliest Devils goal w/song included I found on YouTube is one from the 1991 playoffs in which they played RR Part 2.

 

I have the infamous Mickey Mouse game, but I'm not going to lie...I haven't watched it yet, because I can't bring myself to watch it.  I know it's from a different era, but the idea of watching a team score 13 goals on the Devils...   

Edited October 17, 2013 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[Mike Brown]

Well it's a little harder to get rid of that since it's fan-started and with random timing.  You basically have to start threatening and going through with ejections, and it's a little harder to eject 3/4 of the arena if everyone holds firm and does it.

 

Exactly my point.  It's possible to go after the goal song chant since they just have to change the goal song.

 

I'm glad it has a majority of the votes, it should. Fans hate change as it was said before...

 

Let me just take a quick pole though...if they were to bring it back, but only play it when the Devils were in the lead, or they took the lead with that goal, would you guys be open to that? I think it's a fair compromise...

 

I'm all for bringing it back if fans stop chanting "you suck".  I actually also suggested multiple goal songs for different situations.  

 

If we're behind, and we score a goal, I think this song or a similar song should be played.  Skip to 0:48.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9JS5iSaTxo

If we're winning, I'm all for RR2 provided the fans don't chant you suck.