Islanders debut shrill goal horn to rather frosty reception
The Islanders debuted their new goal horn Monday night and it's not being very well received.
By
Chris Peters
•
2 min read
Who doesn’t love the sounds of hockey? Skate blades in ice, the crunch of the boards, the clap of a stick on the puck, the gentle thud off the goalie’s pads and the goal horn. Oh, the goal horn. That’s as good as it gets.
Well the New York Islanders as you undoubtedly know by now moved to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Many of the team’s traditions are coming with them from Long Island, but there are plenty of differences, too. Like the goal horn.
The Barclays Center debuted its new goal horn in a preseason game against the Washington Capitals Monday. They only got to blare it once in a 3-1 loss, but the arena’s social media team shared the new audio with the often measured, calm and open-minded Twittersphere (or whatever the opposite of that is).
Introducing the new @nyislanders goal horn that we worked on with the MTA. pic.twitter.com/PcAwbuIAVc
— Barclays Center (@barclayscenter) September 29, 2015
Hmm. Now, I didn’t grow up an Islanders fan and I don’t have a good grasp on the history of the goal horn there, but this is a little on the shrill side, eh? Based on the limited sample of reactions that Twitter provides, I am not alone in that assessment.
The widely negative reaction may be slightly tied to the arena changing various traditions the team has enjoyed for years. This was among the replies that got the most support from others:
@barclayscenter @NYIslanders or just keep the old one and stop changing everything about the team
— Patrick Flatley (@_PatrickFlatley) September 29, 2015
Other replies sampled from Twitter, but not necessarily from Islanders fans offered other reviews:
@barclayscenter @GameTimeArt @NYIslanders Why are a million cats dying?
— Wyatt Arndt (@TheStanchion) September 29, 2015
Sounds like a Minion screaming. RT @barclayscenter: …new @nyislanders goal horn that we worked on with the MTA. pic.twitter.com/FCehC5fwUx
— Alan Hahn (@alanhahn) September 29, 2015
@barclayscenter @NYIslanders Wanna hear the most annoying sound in the world?
— Brooklyn (@Brookie425) September 29, 2015
According to the initial tweet, Barclays Center actually worked with the Metropolitan Transportation Association on the horn. It’s meant to give a local flavor now that the team is in Brooklyn, but it may not be having the desired effect.
There are definitely others out there that like the new horn, but change is hard for a lot of folks. It’s just the way it goes.
There was always bound to be growing pains in the new facility. There’s the issue of obstructed-view seats and the off-center scoreboard in a building that was never designed with hockey in mind. That’s home for the Islanders for the foreseeable future, though. So settle in… and bring some ear plugs with you.
