BY TIM DEVANEY
Your Sports editor
Most Cornerstone students know where the library is. But if you asked them where the gymnasium is, they might have to think twice.
Have you seen how empty the stands are at basketball games?
Oh wait, I forgot: you probably don’t go.
The student section is growing, but it’s not nearly enough. The stands used to be swarming with students covered in blue-and-gold face paint. The arena erupted with excitement and was packed every game. Everyone wanted to be part of it.
“The gym was rocking,” said former CU athletic director Bob Fortosis, who is now the athletic director at Eckerd College in Florida. “In those days the basketball program was a tremendous source of pride on campus.”
But not lately.
Cornerstone’s Mol Arena is one of the finest in the WHAC, but the stands are nearly empty. The student section is contained to a few rows in one section of the huge arena. Granted, those students make their presence known, but why don’t we fill the whole arena with students? Why let those students steal all the fun?
The athletic department sets the tone for basketball games and fans follow. They can make or break the atmosphere, and they chipped the first crack years ago by letting the cheerleaders slip away. And what did the music department expect when it disbanded the pep band before last season? The student section has unraveled since.
Even as the administration is rebuilding the student section it’s a bit ironic, because Cornerstone prides itself on leadership, and the music department can’t even find one person to lead the pep band?
President Joe Stowell says he’s behind the effort to improve the student section 100 percent. So let’s do it. The idea’s there, we just need to speed it up.
Athletic Director Dave Grube is making an effort to promote and spice up the games with more entertainment, and CUSG helped advertise the WHAC-MCC Challenge, offering free pizza and Coldstone ice cream to draw fans in. They also supplied signs, jewelry and body paint for fans before the game.
It was a strong effort, but the key is staying committed to it throughout the season no matter what. So why not repeat that effort each game? We could also offer create-your-own T-shirts for free, and sell customized merchandise of Cornerstone players.
Small steps in the right direction are good. But we need big steps.
The basketball players themselves could take a big step toward increasing fan support by simply reaching out. The 1999 championship team embraced the student body and the players were the good guys (not just the cool guys) on campus. Fans couldn’t help but want to support the team.
Unfortunately, the current teams have lost that connection with the student body. There are many quality individuals on both teams, but the student body wouldn’t know because they’re never around to meet. Community involvement with regular students needs to be a higher priority if they expect those same students to support their games. If the Cornerstone team that did win a championship could interact with students, so can the players who are still trying to win one.
The student body has failed to do its part, as well.
Cornerstone’s enrollment this fall was 2,657, but only 75 students attend basketball games on a regular basis, according to Grube. If the student-athletes alone committed to cheering at one another’s games it would more than triple the student section.
There are many good excuses to miss games – small groups, homework, jobs – but if you always make excuses is it really that important to you? I’m not saying a basketball game is more important than studying the Bible or earning a pay check, but it’s not just about the game. It’s about supporting our community and being part of something greater than yourself. God calls for Christian fellowship and rejoicing in what we have been given. If we continually neglect basketball games for whatever reason, isn’t that ignoring one of our calls as Christians?
Besides, most times we don’t even have good excuses to miss games. Raise your hand if you played Halo this week? How much time do you spend aimlessly surfing the Internet? Basketball games only take two hours.
“It’s a community issue,” Grube said, “[An issue] of people wanting to support their university. Wanting to create campus pride.”
It’s not about you or me. It’s about each other. We’re a community at Cornerstone and we need to support one another. You don’t have to be a basketball fan to enjoy the game. It’s about the whole atmosphere. Being surrounded with friends and meeting new people, all cheering wildly in unison.
The fading student section is a campus-wide problem and we can’t keep deflecting the blame. I constantly hear, “That’s a good point. We should go.” But I rarely see action. If we take a deeper look at the student section and commit to full-heartedly improving it, big things could happen. We need to stop thinking next year, and start thinking this year.
This column was published in The Herald during the fall of 2008.
Your Sports editor
Most Cornerstone students know where the library is. But if you asked them where the gymnasium is, they might have to think twice.
Have you seen how empty the stands are at basketball games?
Oh wait, I forgot: you probably don’t go.
The student section is growing, but it’s not nearly enough. The stands used to be swarming with students covered in blue-and-gold face paint. The arena erupted with excitement and was packed every game. Everyone wanted to be part of it.
“The gym was rocking,” said former CU athletic director Bob Fortosis, who is now the athletic director at Eckerd College in Florida. “In those days the basketball program was a tremendous source of pride on campus.”
But not lately.
Cornerstone’s Mol Arena is one of the finest in the WHAC, but the stands are nearly empty. The student section is contained to a few rows in one section of the huge arena. Granted, those students make their presence known, but why don’t we fill the whole arena with students? Why let those students steal all the fun?
The athletic department sets the tone for basketball games and fans follow. They can make or break the atmosphere, and they chipped the first crack years ago by letting the cheerleaders slip away. And what did the music department expect when it disbanded the pep band before last season? The student section has unraveled since.
Even as the administration is rebuilding the student section it’s a bit ironic, because Cornerstone prides itself on leadership, and the music department can’t even find one person to lead the pep band?
President Joe Stowell says he’s behind the effort to improve the student section 100 percent. So let’s do it. The idea’s there, we just need to speed it up.
Athletic Director Dave Grube is making an effort to promote and spice up the games with more entertainment, and CUSG helped advertise the WHAC-MCC Challenge, offering free pizza and Coldstone ice cream to draw fans in. They also supplied signs, jewelry and body paint for fans before the game.
It was a strong effort, but the key is staying committed to it throughout the season no matter what. So why not repeat that effort each game? We could also offer create-your-own T-shirts for free, and sell customized merchandise of Cornerstone players.
Small steps in the right direction are good. But we need big steps.
The basketball players themselves could take a big step toward increasing fan support by simply reaching out. The 1999 championship team embraced the student body and the players were the good guys (not just the cool guys) on campus. Fans couldn’t help but want to support the team.
Unfortunately, the current teams have lost that connection with the student body. There are many quality individuals on both teams, but the student body wouldn’t know because they’re never around to meet. Community involvement with regular students needs to be a higher priority if they expect those same students to support their games. If the Cornerstone team that did win a championship could interact with students, so can the players who are still trying to win one.
The student body has failed to do its part, as well.
Cornerstone’s enrollment this fall was 2,657, but only 75 students attend basketball games on a regular basis, according to Grube. If the student-athletes alone committed to cheering at one another’s games it would more than triple the student section.
There are many good excuses to miss games – small groups, homework, jobs – but if you always make excuses is it really that important to you? I’m not saying a basketball game is more important than studying the Bible or earning a pay check, but it’s not just about the game. It’s about supporting our community and being part of something greater than yourself. God calls for Christian fellowship and rejoicing in what we have been given. If we continually neglect basketball games for whatever reason, isn’t that ignoring one of our calls as Christians?
Besides, most times we don’t even have good excuses to miss games. Raise your hand if you played Halo this week? How much time do you spend aimlessly surfing the Internet? Basketball games only take two hours.
“It’s a community issue,” Grube said, “[An issue] of people wanting to support their university. Wanting to create campus pride.”
It’s not about you or me. It’s about each other. We’re a community at Cornerstone and we need to support one another. You don’t have to be a basketball fan to enjoy the game. It’s about the whole atmosphere. Being surrounded with friends and meeting new people, all cheering wildly in unison.
The fading student section is a campus-wide problem and we can’t keep deflecting the blame. I constantly hear, “That’s a good point. We should go.” But I rarely see action. If we take a deeper look at the student section and commit to full-heartedly improving it, big things could happen. We need to stop thinking next year, and start thinking this year.
This column was published in The Herald during the fall of 2008.
No comments:
Post a Comment