When I saw a sign with arrows pointing to the poster-bearer’s nether regions inviting opposing players to “Chocktaw this,” I didn’t know whether to laugh or cock my head in sheer bewilderment.
Ok, so maybe cock isn’t the best word choice here, but all the same. For the men’s basketball showdown against the Mississippi College Chocktaws, one spirited fan showed off his wit with a clever sign I bet you didn’t see.
Why? Because you weren’t there.
Only 401 people showed up for perhaps the most important home basketball game in UTD history, and many of them weren’t exactly the kind who strike fear into the hearts of the other team.
They were, like they have been all season, parents and community members, who based on their participation could just as soon be watching an opera.
They don’t heckle, they don’t chant, and they certainly don’t show off team loyalties temporarily emblazoned across their bare chests.
On second thought, based on their age, maybe that’s a good thing.
They stand up twice per half – not to help fortify a defensive stand with 90 ticks left – but once to buy an overpriced hotdog and again to alleviate their overactive bladders.
Don’t get me wrong, parents, we appreciate your support, we really do.
You were there, juicy juice in hand, after every rec league game growing up.
Even now you faithfully show up without using the I-have-a-test-tomorrow-to-study-for excuse.
But students, shame on you. Why is it that it takes a fliering campaign – “paint the campus orange” – to attract students to a game with huge playoff implications?
More so, why were there fewer students at the game than in my freshman calculus class?
And what happened to most of that support two days later in a home battle for supremacy in the East?
The students that do show up make their presence heard. They heckle, they chant, they show off team loyalties temporarily emblazoned across their bare chests. And the guys get pretty spirited too.
All joking aside, UTD is on the cusp of making huge academic advancements and is beginning to develop an athletic program worthy of such an institution.
As the final buzzer sounds on the most successful basketball season in the history of UTD, our baseball team is gearing up to improve on last season that saw them come within one win of the division championship.
So go buy an extra orange shirt, stock up on green hairspray, make witty signs. But most importantly, just show up.
In fact if your roommate doesn’t want to accompany you to the game, admonish him slightly, then politely invite him to “Choctaw this.”