My friend Warren once told me that you should pick an undergraduate school with a strong football program and then choose your grad school based on basketball. With the recent plight of the University of Washington football team (1-10) vis-a-vis the surging Husky basketball team (15-2), a new philosophy may be in order. Nevertheless, when I was considering various law schools, the quality of their sports programs was a factor, nestled somewhere in between quality of faculty and proximity to Civil War sites.
"But Mambels, UVa is hardly a basketball powerhouse."
True. Yet as a member of the ACC, I figured I would get to see some of the finest hoops in the country as Duke, UNC, Wake, GT, NCState, and Maryland came into town to rumble with the 'Hoos. Imagine my excitement yesterday when I got to attend my first ACC game between the "down but not quite out" Cavaliers and the "perennial ACC bottom feeding" Tigers of Clemson.
A few observations on the game:
1) The arena was half empty. Maybe the snow kept the out of town fans away, perhaps it's hard to muster excitement for a game between a team 0-5 in the conference against a 1-4 opponent, but it was seriously disappointing. Across the street, they are building the new John Paul Jones Arena which should open the season after next, and I wonder, will the fans come then? Is Zeppelin's drummer an alumni and major booster?
2) The arena was eerily quiet. Granted, this is in large part attributable to observation #1. Even with the limited attendance, and keep in mind I was sitting in the student section, it's just not right to politely clap after UVa scores, as if at golf tournament. I think the loudest I heard the crowd was during a halftime. Two students raced around the court in American Gladiator meets hamster ball meets costume from hit film Bubble Boy. Blue won, in case you were curious.
3) The fans left early...in a two point game! With UVa up two points with less than thirty seconds left, Clemson with the ball and a timeout, the aisles filled as fans headed for the exits. Were they trying to beat traffic? Did they think this game was in the bag? Were these the same people that left the UVa-Miami football game when Miami was up 10 with over five minutes left in the game?
Now I am sure that what I experienced is not indicative of the ACC at large and is nothing compared to attending a game down on Tobacco Row. In fact, my friends at the game from Wake and Duke could not believe how quiet this arena was and the overall lack of enthusiasm.
Next Saturday, UNC comes to town and I'm hoping things will be better and that my ACC grad school decision pays off.
