Midnight Madness, a celebration marking the first official practice day of all NCAA basketball teams, is one of the most exciting times of the year. Students come together, teams come together, and the entire community comes together to welcome one of the most anticipated times of the school year: basketball season. Excitement runs high and the Georgetown community is united. Or at least it should be.
Held at McDonough Arena last Friday, Midnight Madness wasn’t bad. It featured school cheering squads, a new dance group and a staff vs. student basketball game that, while not exactly thrilling, was still fun to watch. What Midnight Madness lacked however, was the Madness.
The reason that students don’t get excited for Midnight Madness is that there just isn’t enough basketball, which should be the focus of the event. Obviously, teams don’t want to risk injury by running full court games, but it would be nice to see a practice, or at the very least, some shooting. Isn’t the entire point of Midnight Madness to get the school pumped and to show off some of the new talent? It featured a shooting contest and a dunk competition, which while entertaining, were mediocre and did not last long. Furthermore none of the new players was featured. By the time the team was actually announced, the Madness was already gone.
This pre-show included a lackluster performance,by rap artist Bubba Sparxx and was hosted by two unknown DJ’s from 99.5. While musical performances are good ways of getting the crowd hyped up, they still take away focus from the basketball.
Midnight Madness would be much better if it went back to the old system of allowing Hoya Blue Members and leaders to run the show and to introduce acts as well as give some info about what they are doing this year to show school spirit. Hoya Blue members and the fans are the real reason why Midnight Madness is so fun, not rappers and free pizza contests. It is almost as if Midnight Madness has become a showcase of music and products rather then a showcase of the players and the fans.
Finally, it was disappointing that Coach Craig Esherick, who gave such a great speech at first-year orientation, couldn’t offer more than a few words about the upcoming season. It was his time?and more importantly, his team’s time?to shine, and he missed the opportunity to spotlight what looks to be a very successful team.
In short, it would have been nice to see a lot more enthusiasm, especially considering that students waited upwards of 2 hours to crowd into to a packed gym with little room. Hopefully next year, there can be less glitz and more action.
