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Take away the shirt and tie and add some snake skin pants and a neon sign and voila, I know what it’s like to be a fan again.
The ’80s theme at the Rutgers University game reminded me of my high school days, when being a part of the student section was an honor and as much an event as anything that was happening on the hardwood.
Kudos to the athletic department for adopting a theme that the students embrace. I think Saturday’s game reiterates the need for a strong liaison between the athletic department and the student body. The Louisville Cardinal called for a vice president within SGA to be funded by the athletics fee earlier this year, and I still think that is the most feasible solution.
It is apparent that students are willing to be spirited when they feel unique. Unfortunately, the seating arrangement at Freedom Hall does not allow for any sense of exclusivity for students. However, the ’80s theme was for the students and by the students, there was a clear separation between student fans and everyone else.
Having the opportunity to be a fan again and sit in the student section, I found myself cheering loudly, but the majority of my sore throat didn’t come from yelling for the basketball team.
As a fan, I love watching David Padgett throw a block party, Derrick Caracter clean the glass like Danny Tanner from “Full House,” and Stuart Miller get some playing time, but as a student, I like to see the student section take pride in their performance.
So when I jump up and down and scream while we run the press on Rutgers, my focus isn’t on supporting the basketball team, but the student section. With elections on the horizon, some like to argue that one vote means so little. At a basketball game you find it is different, one voice means so much.
Fans feed off of each other. If you stand, the boy from your biology class three rows in front of you will, too. If you start chanting ‘defense,’ the girl that lives in your building sitting five rows up will too. Spirit has a domino effect.
The effect goes beyond one isolated moment at a basketball game. Spirit at a basketball game breeds spirit at a tennis match which breeds spirit for and pride in your university.
Athletics is a vehicle for change. There is a reason why Jewish Hospital uses Rick Pitino to endorse their product and why thousands of students will go out to College GameDay this weekend, yet an event at the Red Barn will draw less than fifty students. Athletics, in particular basketball and football, doesn’t recruit just athletes, but the entire community.
With the understanding that athletics brings in people from all over the community and that spirit breeds spirit, Freedom Hall and Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium are the best places for students to show off their school spirit. If it begins with the students, maybe it will end with the 70-year-old donor who sits court side and never stands up or cheers at the game.
Looking back at the Rutgers game, the Cardinals put a whooping on the Scarlet Knights, but the most dominant and significant performance was by the students.
