[Chimp]

Reading about the crowd atmosphere in the NYR vs Sparta Prague thread, it's no secret one of the things transatlantic players appreciate the most going overseas, is the crowd atmosphere.

I will also never, ever, ever understand the mentality of booing your own team, or specifically some player on your own team, which is even worse. You boo because you are disappointed. I'm pretty sure the players on the ice are even more disappointed than you are, they don't need to be informed about that things aren't looking well.

It's counterproductive. You suck out the energy of your own team and get them into negative thoughts, instead of boosting them with positive energy. It's simple psychology. I am 100% positive NYR would have better results, if they had more supportive fans. It's not hard being a supportive supporter when you're winning, it's being supportive when your team is losing. That's when you show true character and in that regard, I must say there are too many spoiled brats in MSG with bad attitude.

In Europe, playing at home is like constantly having an extra player on the ice. In New York, the team is consistently doing better on away ice, because the home fans are schizofrenic (supportive when winning, taunting when the team actually needs them) and like to bully some of their own players.

Let me tell you what happened during a SEL game I was watching recently. The score was 4-0 for the home team. You could barely talk with your friends, because it was so loud. This, a few games into the normal season. The away team quickly scored 2 goals in the 3rd period and the game could've had new life. But it didn't, because the home crowd straight out ignored the two goals scored. They continued chanting, singing and banging drums without even flinching. You barely even noticed there even was a goal on the ice. You couldn't even hear what the announcer said.

And you could see it in the home team, they didn't get nervous, they shrugged it off, because the home crowd shrugged it off. Shortly thereafter, the home team scored 5-2 and sealed the victory. That's how fans treat their team. Always supportive, because that creates a positive spiral.

I'm not saying European fans are better, I'm saying NYR fans should start supporting their team when they really need their support. If they actually like seeing them winning, that is.