It’s a Friday night of fun. Picture an arena full of excited fans. Guys and girls down on the gym floor dressing up and performing skits. People standing and cheering every five minutes.
Fans driving from four hours away just to get a seat. Midnight hits and the crowd goes nuts. The team comes out and has a short scrimmage. There are “oohs” and “ahs” for every dunk and three-pointer. 1:30 a.m. rolls around and the people finally start filing out, genuinely excited about this season’s team.
Welcome to the University of Kansas’s Midnight Madness. For five or six years in a row, my dad and I would make the 35-minute drive up to Lawrence, Kan. to watch the official opening of college basketball season.
Being the huge college basketball fan that I am, it was a night I always enjoyed.
The energy generated in Allen Field House during Midnight Madness is something I have only seen reached on a handful of occasions since I have been at Saint Louis University.
Friday night marks the opening of yet another basketball season and SLU looks serious about getting support out for our basketball teams. As if you needed an excuse to spend an hour and a half on a Friday night in the West Pine Gym, there will be a chance to win $10,000 towards your tuition bill.
That’s right, if you’re lucky enough to be selected, and lucky enough to sink a half-court shot, you could cut your tuition bill in half. Or maybe you’re not sure if you could hit a half-court shot, there is a free throw contest where you could win up to $500 to pay for books.
The more important aspect of Friday night is to show our support for the Billiken basketball teams. This is the one sport that we as students of Saint Louis University, have to brag about to our friends at other universities.
Sure, the men’s soccer team is #2 in the nation and they have more than earned their respect from this columnist, but as far as sports that receive attention on a national level, soccer is not one of them.
Lorenzo Romar has done a remarkable job in his short tenure at SLU. After guiding the Billikens through one of the most improbable NCAA Tournament appearances in 1999, he took a team given no chance by the media and made them winners. The Billikens were picked to finish dead last in their division in Conference USA last year. They fought to a 17-14 record and were arguably the best team not to make a post-season tournament.
Once again, this year there is talk that the Billikens will not be a good basketball team. I say I’ll believe it when I see it. Romar is proving himself a winner and I don’t think this season will be any different.
This year, fans of the women’s basketball team have just as much reason to be excited. After a 14-14 record last season, one in which they played 14 teams that went to a post-season tournament, they return the team’s MVP and bring in one of the top local recruits for the new year.
I say we make Friday night a time to come out and support our school. Go cheer on the women’s soccer team at 7 p.m., as they play Conference USA rival, Cincinnati.
Then stop by the West Pine Gym at 12 for Midnight Madness as we help the Billiken basketball teams open their seasons.
