It is not news that St. John’s fans behaved awfully when UConn lost to St. John’s in the Garden last month. It is also not news that St. John’s will play UConn in the People’s Bank Arena on February 25. I am writing to suggest that the arena be on its best behavior that night. Show the league what the best fans in the country look like when they host a strong rival. And I have a game plan to suggest.
Dan Hurley wants UConn to ‘hurt’ from St. John’s loss, then find ‘championship-level’ response
Being a good host does not mean shying away from being the 6th man on the court, of course, and I write to suggest a perfectly sporting plan. It comes from my college days in Philadelphia when the Palestra was the basketball capital of the world because the Big Five schools played all of their home games there. Double-headers featuring at least one and sometimes three teams of Philly’s best college basketball teams filled the place every night.
I was an undergraduate at Penn, and all of that noise was always just a few blocks away from my dorm. Fans from Penn, Villanova, St. Joseph’s, Temple, and LaSalle all rooted loudly for each other night in and night out – except when they played each other for the Big Five Championship.
I admit that I was in the stands two or three times a week. I didn’t have to pay because I could sneak into the Palestra whenever I wanted by simply showing drum sticks to the friendly guard at the door where the pep bands entered the building; the drum sticks that I carried meant that I played the drums for one of those bands. I sat where I could fit on the benches that accounted for the venue’s 8,735 seat capacity. That was not a problem lots of people found their way inside without a ticket. In fact, it was usual for the Philadelphia Inquirer to report attendance far in excess of 10,000 when two Big Five schools were playing each other.
Now, for the plan for the St. John’s game. I especially remember one night in the late 1960s when Davidson came to town to play St. Joe’s. Davidson had been ranked #1 in the country for weeks. St. Joes had been unranked in November, but they were #7 with a bullet on that night.
The game was close at half-time with lots of lead changes when the St. Joe’s cheerleaders conspired with everyone in the building to organize our cheering. When St. Joe’s was on offense, our assignment was to raise the roof. When they were playing defense, we were to do same thing. When St. Joe’s scored, we were told to raise the roof even higher. And when Davidson scored? The place was ordered to be dead silent.
Somehow, we all did it. The noisy part was easy. But after the few times that Davidson scored that half, you could hear 10 pairs of sneakers 10 squeak on the floor until St. Joe’s crossed the midcourt line. Then, and immediately, the place sounded like a jetliner was landing next door on Franklin Field.
This was all perfectly legal. Brilliant, but not insulting. And it was very effective. St. Joe’s won going away by significant double digits. The Davidson coach was not amused, though. He loudly announced after the game that his team was never going to return to Philadelphia much less the Palestra as long as he had anything to do with scheduling.
So, my suggestion to UConn nation is that you all conspire to show the same level of discipline that you admire in your team. Follow a game plan. Maybe even practice in front of the TV between now and the St. John’s. The Palestra was always known as a “bandbox”, and with good reason. I see no reason why the PBA and Gampel cannot earn that moniker without being rude or crude. Storrs is, after all, the new “basketball capital of the world.”
Woof? Woof Woof! Woof Woof Woof! Shhhhhh and repeat.
Gary Yohe, Portland
