A worthy cause: Men’s basketball team warrants school’s support
February was a month that could have spring boarded the Rams season into one of national notoriety but, with four losses out of five games, instead gave the team an appearance of one that had crashed and burned.
Adam Stern
Sports Editor
Commonwealth Times Sports’ Twitter
Live in the moment.
Those were the words VCU head coach Shaka Smart used when asked to describe what his team’s mindset was after trouncing George Mason in the CAA Tournament – again – Sunday.
February was a month that could have spring boarded the Rams season into one of national notoriety but, with four losses out of five games, instead gave the team an appearance of one that had crashed and burned.
But it’s March now, and Smart said the team was moving on.
VCU’s fans should too.
At Sunday’s supposedly super-serious showdown with Mason, Rams fans were badly outnumbered by a traveling fleet of Patriots fans that showed up in force but simply didn’t have much to cheer about. That in itself was a bit strange, not because Mason fans don’t usually travel well, but VCU fans don’t have to do much, well, traveling.
The conventional wisdom is that the proximity of VCU to the Richmond Coliseum – a couple miles away from campus compared to dozens if not hundreds for all 11 other teams in the conference – gives the Rams an inherent, almost natural advantage.
If that’s the case, they almost lost it Sunday.
The warning signs were there. When George Mason came out of the starting blocks in the second half on an 8-1 run, the arena grew exceedingly loud – deafening – and VCU fans could do very little about it.
Luckily for those supporting the black and gold, the Rams’ clutch contingent of four seniors, along with junior Brad Burgess, quelled every assault the Patriots could muster, and by doing so kept their fans in their seat and quiet.
But if Mason had been able to inch any closer then they did, and Patriot fans went into a frenzy, VCU may have lost all sense of momentum; perhaps the most vital aspect to this team’s success.
Smart has made no secret since he came to the school that the team seems to thrive off of VCU’s usually boisterous crowd. Maybe it’s because the players are that much more confident that they’re about to nail a 3-pointer when they hear people shouting their name. Maybe it’s because the more people they see wearing the same colors as them, the more motivation they have to please them.
Whatever the reason, the connection can become tangible. When the final seconds ticked off the clock Sunday, Skeen walked in front of the student section, using his hands to push forward the front part of his jersey where the school’s name lays. When Rodriguez corralled a loose ball underneath the basket with just minutes to go to in the game to push VCU’s lead back into comfort range, he pointed at the fans as he ran back on defense as if he was saying that play was for them.
People from other schools in the conference complain early and often about the perceived bias in VCU’s favor that comes along with being the team who plays their conference tournament in the same city they play in regularly.
Why not take advantage of it?
Monday night when VCU takes to the hardwood, they have a chance to book another trip back to the NCAA Tournament. Yes, the same VCU team that so many deserted when the highest of highs became the lowest of lows a few weeks back.
But that was then; this is now. If you support this school in some way, shape or form, get behind these guys who are on the ride of their lives and want to take you along for the journey.
Live in the moment.
