As basketball high fades away ...
Mike Maloney
Issue date: 3/1/07 Section: Features
- Page 1 of 1
I attend Marist College. Not Texas, Purdue, or Duke. And while some of our sports teams have competed against the top collegiate programs in the country, we do not possess any athletes who have the potential of playing at the professional level. Except of course for Jared. Now ESPN (2) does not come to McCann very often, but this past Saturday, the network paid us a visit. The reason for the early tip-off was because of the fact that it was the only time we were offered. The game was sold-out, student tickets were limited, and everyone at that gym saw why.
It was 9:00 am on a Saturday morning, and the atmosphere in McCann kept everyone from feeling like they had just gotten up for an 8 am class. Gary Thorne (an ESPN broadcaster) and 800 or so of us for almost 2 hours before the game began. When the cameras were turned on, and the stands began to fill, everyone got a sense of how special that morning was going to be. Even though the guys gave us some butterflies when they fell behind at the start of the game, they didn't disappoint, and delivered the W. February 24, 2007 will not be remembered so much as the day we beat Siena or won the MAAC championship as much as it will be known as the day the McCann Center "bumping".
The victory put an exclamation mark on the already great regular season the men's team had. Although the lady red foxes had a better record, the atmosphere has never been the same for the games of their male counterparts. I attribute that to the blowouts the girls routinely produce against their opponents. It isn't always entertaining to see a team destroy another 70-30. It had to come down to the final minutes of this game before a winner could clearly be projected.
It's almost sad, because I don't know in any of my remaining years at Marist if there will ever be a game with that type of atmosphere. It is nothing against the future athletes, but it's been said by everyone, "This is the year". With the star talent departing, so will the chances of us returning to such a high level. But it is only natural to ask what's next. To avoid the question we further reflect on the recent events. I've never seen so many people intoxicated at 9 am, or so many kids risking hypothermia just so they could get a couple seconds of TV time.
No matter what time you woke up, no matter how much your legs hurt standing, or how many people lost their voices, it was worth it. I'll see yall at the big dance.
It was 9:00 am on a Saturday morning, and the atmosphere in McCann kept everyone from feeling like they had just gotten up for an 8 am class. Gary Thorne (an ESPN broadcaster) and 800 or so of us for almost 2 hours before the game began. When the cameras were turned on, and the stands began to fill, everyone got a sense of how special that morning was going to be. Even though the guys gave us some butterflies when they fell behind at the start of the game, they didn't disappoint, and delivered the W. February 24, 2007 will not be remembered so much as the day we beat Siena or won the MAAC championship as much as it will be known as the day the McCann Center "bumping".
The victory put an exclamation mark on the already great regular season the men's team had. Although the lady red foxes had a better record, the atmosphere has never been the same for the games of their male counterparts. I attribute that to the blowouts the girls routinely produce against their opponents. It isn't always entertaining to see a team destroy another 70-30. It had to come down to the final minutes of this game before a winner could clearly be projected.
It's almost sad, because I don't know in any of my remaining years at Marist if there will ever be a game with that type of atmosphere. It is nothing against the future athletes, but it's been said by everyone, "This is the year". With the star talent departing, so will the chances of us returning to such a high level. But it is only natural to ask what's next. To avoid the question we further reflect on the recent events. I've never seen so many people intoxicated at 9 am, or so many kids risking hypothermia just so they could get a couple seconds of TV time.
No matter what time you woke up, no matter how much your legs hurt standing, or how many people lost their voices, it was worth it. I'll see yall at the big dance.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Joe Perrella
posted 3/02/07 @ 2:37 PM EST
Mike- my main man,
I read your review of the Marist game and I was truly impressed. I follow Marist in my only paper. It seems the men and women are putting good people on the floor. (Continued…)
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