Give the basketball team the support it deserves
Steve Mattingly
sophomore
As one of the few who actually went to the first two mens basketball games, I have been appalled by the abysmal student turnout. While I recognize that the early-season slate is not exactly filled with national title contenders, it is more than ridiculous that fewer than 500 students, of the more than 3,000 with tickets, managed to drag themselves away from their precious lab reports to cheer on their fellow students for the first two games.
Trying to gather guys from my dorm to go to the games, I have encountered mostly whiny pleas from people who claim to have "too much work." This is quite a tired excuse, and I assure you that the two hours of work you might miss at the game are not going to cause your GPA to plummet.
As anyone who looks at the pictures in the Joyce Center's display cases can see, there was a time not long ago when over half of Notre Dame's undergrads packed the Joyce Center and screamed for two hours, making it one of the toughest places in the country to play and allowing the Irish to pull off some stunning victories. The student tickets the administration allots us sold out quicker than ever this year, but this means nothing unless we actually go to the games.
As anyone who's followed us under Coach Mike Brey or attended the last two games knows, we have a talented, explosive and young team that is not far from becoming an elite squad. It needs our support to help make the Joyce Center a tough place to play again. So put down your books, gather your friends, realize life needs a little fun and go scream for the Irish for a couple of hours.
If 8,000 can rightfully pack the student section to watch our outstanding football team crush Rutgers, then there is no reason why 3,000 shouldn't pack the Joyce Center for every basketball game. We play at 9 p.m. Friday, leaving plenty of time for partying both before and after the game. Be there.
All Viewpoint Stories for Thursday, November 21, 2002
