Yes, we'll say it. McKale Center needs a student section! And things may be in the works for that in the future. But truth be told, we are not sure that having a student section is going to transform McKale Center into the amazing basketball environment offered by some of the other schools around the Pacific 10 Conference, namely Haas Pavilion (California), Mac Court (Oregon) and Maples Pavilion (Stanford). After all, Arizona State University has a student section, and our 16-5 record in Tempe shows how much it has helped them.
Having a great home court advantage involves a lot more than a bunch of kids wearing the same color shirt sitting together. For starters, these schools let you know it's going to be a long day even before the team first sets foot in the gym.
At Stanford, the acclaimed Sixth Man Student Section lines up more than an hour before tipoff. As the bus arrives, students swarm the bus to give their own personal welcome. Last year before an ABC game, one Stanford fan ran up to the bus with a clever sign that read, "Adams Blows C ..." (You fill in the rest) with two artistically-drawn stick figures. Who says SAT scores can't come with personality?
Stanford isn't the only school where students line up more than an hour before game time to greet the opposing players. Last week at Oregon, we arrived an hour and a half before the game and stepped off the bus to a chorus of about 500 screaming Duck fans chanting "F@$% Salim." All this is before the team ever steps foot on the court. Next time you are at a game in McKale Center, just think about how hostile the environment is prior to tipoff. Wait ... chances are you fall into the 85 percent of students who don't arrive until four minutes into the game.
No offense to the Zona Zoo Keepers. The effort is there, but a painted face and cape will only take you so far. Oregon head coach Ernie Kent's oldest son leads the crowd at Mac Court. At both Stanford and Cal there are leaders that head their student sections, prepared with fact sheets arming them with the ammunition needed to lead such chants as "SAT scores" as they harassed one of our players who had been ruled to have had test anxiety, or the always annoying "Damon's better" chant, comparing Salim to his cousin and Portland Trailblazer starting guard.
Now that's not to say that two scantily clad men with face paint running around the upper level of McKale Center to the "William Tell Overture" aren't playing mind games on the competition, but we think these other schools might be on to something.
Arizona fans have gotten a little bit greedy. It's understandable - 296 straight weeks in the Top 25 can do that to you. So it's hard for fans to get up for every game, and we really only get to see the best the UA has to offer at the big games. Well, there is a colossal showdown between two of the Pac-10's top teams tomorrow in McKale Center. And the way we see it, you can do one of two things: Keep McKale Center the way it is, or give opposing teams a good old Wildcat welcome.
The Washington bus arrives an hour and a half before game time in front of the football office. The game is on Fox Sports Net, and poster board and paint are on sale at the UofA Bookstore.
Welcome to McKale Center!
Joe Williams is senior manager and Matt Brase is a senior forward on the men's basketball team.