I reject the idea that there is some universally accepted "right" way of playing the game.

Quote from: SimpleCoach on Yesterday at 09:20:12 AM

Quote from: josemourinho on September 06, 2025, 09:41:03 PMWhat gets lost in the discourse is the fact that most, if not all, of the behavior that Amherst gets criticized for is harmless.

Harmless?  Sure.  But its also perceived as disrespectful, unsportsmanlike, and contemptuous.

SC.

Here's the thing: only incels like you would perceive it this way. My teammates and I have the respect of just about every team in the league because people who live in the real world know that, between the white lines, it is just a game.

We could debate whether success breeds arrogance or the other way around, but something is working well in Western Mass. There is a certain amount of ego one gains from being on a team that has been to 4 out of the last 5 national championship games. My hope is that the prosperity continues for the Mammoths and the players feel confident enough to wear it on their chests while it lasts. When the day comes that other teams reach similar heights (like Tufts/Messiah before us), I would love nothing more than for them to be in our faces about it. I would hope our players don't whine and have their parents complain about it on an anonymous online forum, but rather respond by winning on the field and enjoying the short-lived spoils of their victory unapologetically.

Former Amherst player here. Feels quite strange watching games from the outside now, after four years of jousting on the field, and despite the NSN stream being decent quality, nothing beats the in-person atmosphere of an intense NESCAC game. Today reminded me of why I had so much fun playing in the league.

While it is still early in the season and teams are finding their form, I was really impressed by the maturity of Amherst's performance today. Coming into this weekend as the top-ranked team in the country after a less-than-impressive midweek performance is a lot of pressure for a young team to handle, but today's performance showed why this team/program deserves everything that has come its way in the last year.

I thought Camelparent did a good job at summarizing the game, so there is no need to repeat what happened. I do want to emphasize that the two first-years scored for the Mammoths today, which is a great sign of things to come. While I appreciated Camelparent's analysis, I fear the objections towards Amherst's "antics" have become quite stale. What gets lost in the discourse is the fact that most, if not all, of the behavior that Amherst gets criticized for is harmless. I fear that if we take that bit of the game out of it, we lose much of the emotion/humanity that added to how special those games were to me and the many others who were fortunate enough to participate in them. The ease with which opponents get triggered by the Amherst players only adds to the players' eagerness to continue to provoke. I used to love it when I got chirped at by fans/opposing players because I thought many of the comments were funny, and I did not take them personally. Anyone who has played in these types of games knows that both sides participate in the banter, and the trash-talking is almost always surface-level. Conn, along with conceding twice, lost the physical and mental battle today.

Given recent history, I doubt this will be the only encounter between Conn and Amherst this season, and I am confident Conn will be a national championship contender come October. For now, though, the Mammoths defend their crown and sit pretty at the top of the league and the country.