After a long absence from blogging, I have some free time from school, work, and my actual life to dedicate some time to blogging about one of my favorite things in this world which is sports! WooT So to start off this new year with my first post in a long time, it is time to start talking about NCAA basketball, which is coming to the climax of the regular season. Schools are making the final push to become tourny eligible, and one of the most important things these teams must do it win at home. Sure the home court makes the players feel comfortable, but the part that sets the feared road trips from just another game is the student section.
Often placed right next to the visitor's bench, the opposing team can most definitely hear what the fans are saying. It is insane how much we (as students) jeer at the other team. Even though they are told not to listen, and do a good job of doing so, it is extremely hard to ignore 3000 students screaming at you.
For all of you that do not know, I attend the University of Colorado at Boulder currently; however, I am a transfer from Rutgers University. I have only been to five different college basketball stadiums (CU, RU, Monmouth University, Seton Hall, and Air Force). Take it for what it is worth, but CU is by far the king of these five. Yes, Monmouth is not a very big basketball stadium by any means, and none of the other four teams has had much success to draw huge crowds of people. The thing is though, that I attended these places for rivalry games. RU vs SHU, SHU vs RU, RU vs Monmouth, and finally Air Force vs UNC ( I dont count this game since the Cadets are all well behaved). So let me support this with some facts about Coors Event Center, CU Men's and Women's basketball stadium.
CEC holds over 11,000 at capacity, and we have sold out our student section for the last 10 conference home games. Yes, there are traditional basketball powerhouses that have sold 100+ blah blah blah, but for a school that has had only two players drafted in the first round in the past two decades (Billups, Burks)this is quite the accomplishment. Due to the shape of the building, and the fact that the student section faces west, any sound that escapes from the CEC bounces off of the mountains right in our backyard. Once again, this may not seem like it will a difference, but science shows that it does.
With our student section we have a different cheer for everything, and being loud/obnoxious is one of our specialties. We sing the fight song when we are winning, and even louder when we are losing. We rip up paper, and throw it in the air so it snows on the court. We hold signs, and call out players. We have cardboard cut-outs. We have Iron Man, and whoever the hell that dude is with the Master Chief helmet/body armor with horns on it. We have those guys in spandex. We have the painted hippies, the overalls, and the blackouts. We sing loud, and cheer at half-time. We have the roller-coaster, and we have one of the best cheerleaders I have ever seen (he seriously does flips from end-zone to end-zone at football, and across the court at Bball games). Our school spirit has brought us up to the top 10 in the eyes of ESPN. Most importantly, the players know that we have their backs.
On top of everything, our home record proves it all. Only three loses at home in the past two seasons by a combined 15 points. You may not agree, but come to the Coors Event Center, and I can guarantee that your opinion will change just a little bit.
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