Caps fire organist Bruce Anderson - He will not be replaced

[Fenway]

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[Corby78]

This is sad to me. The organ at the hockey game is how i remember the music being played when I was a kid. I know I am in the minority, but that’s how I would prefer music during intermissions and tv breaks. The old barn in Chicago had a great organ sound, the old arena in StLouis, Minnesota….

 

[Calicaps]

Terrible terrible decision. WTF?

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

They’ve made some terrible in-game experience decisions at Monumental between the Caps and the Wizards in recent years. Disappointing.

 

[g00n]

If they pipe in recordings of this guy playing from the past they'd better pay him royalties of some kind.

Otherwise fans should boo every time a recorded organ is heard.

 

[Holtbyisms]

f***ing joke.

 

[Jacoby4HOF66]

Probably did this to make room for another suite

 

[John Price]

So I have season tickets to the Caps and I have attended nearly every game since 2015.

Bruce was there for most of them. I remember Wes Johnson going "Bruccccccccce" during pregame introductions and then they'd go to Bruce on the camera who would wave a bit

That said, other than the du du du "Let's go Caps" notes, and occasional tunes I'm not surprised the Caps are tuning out the original organ music for your typical piped in sports tunes like 7 nation army, etc

 

[kicksavedave]

I remember very clearly in around 2000 or so when Ted first owned the team, and he published his AOL email address for fans to communicate directly with him, and make suggestions - he would publish the good ones on his blog. One fan wrote "bring back the live organ at the games" and Ted just replied "done" and within a week or so there was Bruce Anderson playing the organ at what was then MCI center. Guess what fans want is no longer that important? Sad development.

 

[twabby]

You'd think with the several million dollars they are getting for having ads for predatory gambling on the Capitals jerseys they could afford to keep the organist. But I guess they have to squeeze every last penny out of us!

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

The organ has been the only thing not obnoxiously loud in the arena the last few years. I don’t know who told them they have to blast music at a painful decibel level every second the puck isn’t in play but that person shouldn’t have a job influencing game day experience anymore.

 

[Ridley Simon]

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Man.

Going to the games in the 80’s and 90’s at the old Cap Center —— the big Pringle —— I always will remember the organ. Always.

It will be missed

 

[Hivemind]

Welcome to capitalism and automation. If a large corporation can replace your job with some "professionally recorded" .mp3s of an organ, they will. It's a shame the Capitals aren't above that, but not really surprising either.

 

[Silky mitts]

I think they should play GNR during all stoppages like Love and Thunder

 

[Devil Dancer]

The in-person experience gets a little louder and a little more obnoxious every year.

And it's not unique to the Caps. Nats games are getting worse, too.

 

[IafrateOvie34]

What a terrible decision. To me, it's a part of hockey and Corby78's and Ridley Simon's posts cover my feelings about this decision, so I have nothing to elaborate on. Time for nostalgia youtube games from decades past to get me pumped for this NHL season . I'm not sure if I'm older or the Caps won the cup, but I'm not finding myself getting super excited about the NHL like I used to.

 

[John Price]

The organ has been the only thing not obnoxiously loud in the arena the last few years. I don’t know who told them they have to blast music at a painful decibel level every second the puck isn’t in play but that person shouldn’t have a job influencing game day experience anymore.

Dude this is a big issue. They put the shit up so loud, cranking up music and Wes. It got so bad I had to bring earplugs to every game last year.

To be fair it's not just a Caps thing, brought those earplugs to Burr last week and the Wizards games. They always try to hype the crowd up by putting the volume up so loud. It wasn't always like this

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Dude this is a big issue. They put the shit up so loud, cranking up music and Wes. It got so bad I had to bring earplugs to every game last year.

To be fair it's not just a Caps thing, brought those earplugs to Burr last week and the Wizards games. They always try to hype the crowd up by putting the volume up so loud. It wasn't always like this

Yeah, it sucks. I’ve wondered if it’s pressure from TV execs to make the broadcast sound more lively? Or internal ideas to make it sound to fans watching on TV like they’re really missing out on being at the game live and in person by making it sound raucous and crazy in the arena? Either way, it’s shit.

I had to stop taking my kids since they kept complaining about the noise level. It wasn’t always like this; I remember taking my daughter when she was young and having her fall asleep on me during a game. Now, even when I stuff them up with chicken tenders and popcorn and bring noise canceling headphones, they’re always complaining about how loud it is.

 

[twabby]

It's been a while since I've been to a Lightning game here in Tampa but their organ is a big deal and adds quite a bit to the in-arena experience. You can go in a big standing room section next to the organ, which has a unique sound:

Not saying the Capitals can replicate this exactly, but they should be trying for unique experiences like this instead of trending the other direction. This stinks!

 

[Langway]

Meh.

 

[g00n]

Played "Lady of Spain" one too many times

 

[StrikingDistance]

If Bruce only knew how to play obnoxiously loud electro-rave music...yeah, brought ear plugs the last 2 or 3 games I went. Terrible music selection.

 

[Corby78]

So I have season tickets to the Caps and I have attended nearly every game since 2015.

Bruce was there for most of them. I remember Wes Johnson going "Bruccccccccce" during pregame introductions and then they'd go to Bruce on the camera who would wave a bit

That said, other than the du du du "Let's go Caps" notes, and occasional tunes I'm not surprised the Caps are tuning out the original organ music for your typical piped in sports tunes like 7 nation army, etc

Yeah blah blah blah progress… blah blah blah new generation…. Or something like that

 

[ArmadilloThumb]

Bad call Ted. Reverse this, please.

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

Dude this is a big issue. They put the shit up so loud, cranking up music and Wes. It got so bad I had to bring earplugs to every game last year.

To be fair it's not just a Caps thing, brought those earplugs to Burr last week and the Wizards games. They always try to hype the crowd up by putting the volume up so loud. It wasn't always like this

It's in every arena and every bar. It's done in bars so you can't converse with your friends so you eat and drink more. Probably the same reason in the arenas.