Rather than debate the merits of court storming, like many in the national media have done in the wake of Georgetown students’ actions on Monday, and whether a program of Georgetown’s prestigious status should be engaging in this practice at all, I’m going to take a different angle on this development.
Simply put, the intensity and passion that inspired Georgetown students to storm the court needs to be present at Hoyas’ games for the rest of the season. The veracity of the student section was infectious not only in the win against Villanova, but also against Butler this past Saturday. The loyal student partisans of the Blue and Gray spawned a chain reaction that captivated the arena and created a true, tangible homecourt advantage for the Hoyas. The energy that the Georgetown students brought to Verizon Center this past weekend for both games created a buzz that has not been felt around the downtown arena in nearly two seasons, which is a long time if you’re a program that prides itself as a marketable national brand.
This buzz carried over to the floor where the already motivated Hoyas, who were hungry for the national attention that would come with wins against the Bulldogs and Wildcats, fed off the energy and were better players for it. As someone who played high school basketball in front of a lively student section every home game, I can relate. Knowing that my teammates and I would be rewarded with the most intense plaudits, including chanting our names or taunting our opponents made us want to go all out even more. It made us better players because we wanted to hear that crowd erupt just one more time again and again, knowing that it would happen if we made the right play. The same could be said for the Hoyas, who played their best basketball of the season this past weekend, including possibly their best stretch of the last few seasons when they erupted for a 17-0 run in the first half against Villanova, which sent the crowd into a frenzy.
And with the Hoyas assuming sole possession of first place in the Big East and a national ranking upcoming in the next poll due to their impressive play as of late, there is now no better time to get behind the Blue and Gray. This year’s team has a lot to be excited about, with its combination of veterans and youth and the way it creates havoc for their opponents on both ends of the floor. They’re on a mission to redeem the postseason failures of years past and etch the Georgetown name back into the national college basketball conversation as one of the nation’s premier programs. The way the students can play their part in accomplishing this objective is showing up to the Verizon Center and being as loud as possible.
I understand the objections and concerns that students have about Georgetown basketball games. I understand that the Verizon Center isn’t the most convenient of places to get to, especially on a school night when you have that midterm or paper due the next day. I understand that you probably didn’t get season tickets this year because you didn’t want to shell out $125 for what may have amounted to another disappointing season. I understand that the new opponents from the current constitution of the Big East are not as familiar and well-known as those in the older conference. And I understand that the Big East, Fox Sports 1, and Georgetown have not done you any favors by scheduling games for adverse dates and start times.
But tough shit. The atmosphere that was prevalent this past weekend needs to be replicated for the remainder of this season and onward. No excuses. Schools that Georgetown likes to compare itself to with rich academic and basketball backgrounds such as Duke and North Carolina all sell out their building each and every night and create a terrifying atmosphere for visiting teams. Like us, students at those schools have been dealt unfavorable start times to their games due to the demands of television contracts. Like us, they have to balance midterms, papers, and their other academic obligations. And like us, they have to make an extraordinary commitment, in either time or money, to secure a seat at their team’s home games. They still, however, despite all of this, find a way to have some of the rowdiest student sections in the country, and in effect, create some of the loudest homecourts in college hoops.
So if Georgetown wants to be taken seriously as a national program, both on and off the court, it’s time that Georgetown students consistently do their part. Because when they have, there are very few places in college basketball that are better than a packed and lively Verizon Center for a Georgetown basketball game.
