by Colin Zalewski
All I have to say is, you get what you ask for.
Just a couple weeks ago our Whitworth men’s basketball team was ranked No. 1 in the country, but there was an immediate caveat buzzing throughout campus. Students were saying, “That’s great our team’s so good at basketball, but I don’t like going to the games because we always win by so much and they aren’t competitive.”
Are you kidding me? Anyone who makes a statement like that is not a Whitworth basketball fan. They are simply a basketball fan in general.
If your team is about to step onto the floor, especially if they are undefeated and No. 1 in the country, and you’re sitting in your dorm room watching Hulu because you think the game will be boring because we’ll win by too much, you’re not a fan at all, and you need to get your priorities in order. For every Whitworth basketball fan, every time our team plays at home or away, you should be hoping the final score is 200- 0 in our favor. If you “just want to see a good game,” go watch the World Series of Poker (which btw is not a sport).
For all of you whose only concern is viewing a competitive game, you should have come down to Walla Walla with me last Tuesday. That game against the Whitman College Missionaries was extremely competitive. However, here’s one minor detail for all of you who seemingly don’t care who wins, as long as there is good sportsmanship and a good atmosphere: we lost! And that’s what you get for hoping and praying for a “good game.”
I realize I’m coming off a bit aggressive right now, but I want to give credit where credit is due. After talking with assistant coach Craig Fortier and a number of the team players, they’ve made it clear that Whitworth has by far the most student and community support of any other team in our conference. So we’re doing a pretty good job, but I briefly want to challenge students and the community outside of Whitworth who have loyally made it out to the Fieldhouse to support the team.
First of all, continue to be there. On Thursday the first round of the conference tournament is in our gym against Pacific Lutheran University, so this is a perfect opportunity to show up in droves and for all you no-shows throughout the season to redeem yourselves.
Secondly, get ready to stand and yell for a full 40 minutes. I witnessed first-hand how the meager showing of fans at Whitman truly dug their team out of the grave to come back and beat us, can you imagine the kind of impact on the game we can have as a Whitworth community? Huge.
Lastly, don’t show up asking for a good and competitive game. Show up and do everything in your power to cheer on our Bucs to the biggest win in school history. That’s what being a true fan is all about.