I am w/ISUFB.
I have witnessed multiple games where the crowd willed the team to a W. Got to watch Fred play for 3 yrs. If u have not experienced it u may not understand where the posters expectations are coming from. I suggest u get ur entire section/alley to GET LOUD.....and not occasionally, consistently. When that happens u may be surprised by the result.
Thanks for this rational response.
Disclaimer: I was watching the game online ...
That said, you know Hilton Magic when you see it, and it did not exist tonight.
To all those who are sitting here and trying to stand up for the crowd, please stop! While some may look to blame the loss entirely on the lack of crowd noise/excitement and that is unfair, you have to understand what it is some people are used to and expect (I am one of them). Hilton Magic used to flat out make opponents buckle. In the games where I've been lucky enough to see it (the Magic), opposing teams can't hear their coaches, can't communicate with each other, and look dazed, confused, and scared because their bodies are literally pulsating due to the decibel level. I'm not saying or suggesting that the fans lost us this game, for obviously it was the players who ultimately played it and lost it. However, the failure on behalf of the fans to make enough consistent noise, especially in the second half, and especially when we're still within 5 to 6 points with 3 to 4 minutes to go is inexcusable. That is when the fans change the game. Yes, the players missed free throws, but the fans missed the opportunity to keep Missouri from feeling comfortable, and from smoothly, with no distractions, running their offense.
For in-depth analysis read on ...
I think part of the issue anymore is the cookie cutter approach to building an environment. When I look back at the
Missouri highlight real from 1988 something that stands out is that you just have a bunch of crazy fans and a band. Not a bunch of lights, music, or a designated student section w/ same colored shirts. No, it's just a bunch of crazed people who love to see their team play. And of course, they stand consistently, especially when they are anticipating good plays on offense. That momentum is then carried throughout the change of possession and becomes just a bunch of madness. This new era, with the generally expected dull roar coming out of the student section is not basketball cheering. That is football noise you make on 3rd down. Basketball doesn't work like that, and the best crowds in the country know that -- sadly we are no longer one of them. At Kentucky, Michigan State, Duke, and especially Kansas, you hear rumors of fans applauding and cheering for a great three-point shooter making a baseline cut and curling off two screens, because they know that an open three-point shot is about to be set up. This sort of nuanced anticipation, which builds to shouts and yelps when the shot is drained, is much different from simply deciding that we'll begin a low-level muffled scream whenever we make a shot. We used to have the fans that would get excited about everything and not worry about the consequences. I want to know where those fans went? Now we have fans in the front rows sitting and fanning themselves with 30 seconds left, or leaving to get to your car with 20 seconds left since we're down by four. I just don't understand ... but maybe I never will.
