Words of Wissman

Saturday afternoon, I settled into a vacant seat at Boston College's Conte Forum, a hockey stadium turned into a basketball arena, for what would seem like the longest basketball game of my life.

In the contest the Crimson was bludgeoned by cross-town rival and Big East power Boston College, 96-57, a margin made all-the-more significant by a late-game Crimson surge against the Eagles' fourth team.

It was an ugly game, for sure, but I wasn't really bothered by it. After all, Harvard was expected to lose badly anyway.

If anything, I was impressed by the Harvard players' attitude. They never seemed to give up--even amidst numerous chidings by BC fans, their obnoxiously active bird mascot and an unbelievable 40-3 deficit early in the game.

What bothered me, rather, was the lack of Crimson crowd support.

I must admit, I was warned about this before I took The Crimson's basketball beat:

Hockey is the big winter sport at Harvard, I was told. No one cares about basketball.

I had heard it, but I didn't believe it.

Even after witnessing a less-than-incredible fan showing during Harvard's loss to Holy Cross last Tuesday, I was skeptical. Holy Cross is just not an exciting foe to come out and watch, I reasoned. That's why the crowd was so small.

But the Boston College game would be different. Boston College was supposed to have had a great team this year, and BC is our crosstown rival. People would come.

But I found myself all alone on those bleachers trying to pick out the few loyal Harvard fans in the crowd and watching the hyper-energetic Boston College Golden Eagle run around the court in a frenzy. This was when the basketball apathy at this school become painfully apparent to me.

Sean, I said to myself, you're not in Kansas anymore.

As a kid growing up in Manhattan, Kansas, (a.k.a. The Little Apple--seriously) I had spent lots of hours packed with other Wildcats fans like a sardine in a local basketball field house watching Kansas State University basketball games.

Kansas State was usually a major underdog in the league, sometimes not even predicted to come within 30 of certain other Big Eight teams (e.g., Kansas in the Danny Manning Years, Missouri in the Anthony Peeler years, etc.).

But, without fail, the fans religiously packed it in for every conference or semi-major game.

And they cheered--oh did they cheer. Waves, coordinated taunts, face paint and banners were a part of every game. Hell, for the big games, they even had to call out the riot police. But it was fun. And effective.

Riding the intensity of the crowd, the Wildcats could be counted on to make an unbelievably strong showing at home. Defensive pressure and overall team confidence soared and margins that should have been thirty points were cut to four or even wins.

In addition, the fans had a hell of a time--they had the opportunity to both scream off study tensions and sweat off beer calories.

It was a no-lose situation, really, and I think that sort of situation would benefit Harvard a great deal.

The more I watch the Crimson this year, the more I become convinced that the team needs fan support to build confidence and enthusiasm--the self-generated kind can only go so far.

The more I see of Harvard students, the more I become convinced that they need another outlet for tensions, besides hockey games.

And the more I see of myself, the more I realize that sitting alone and watching a bird run around the court is no way to spend an afternoon.

Sean D. Wissman is a Crimson staff writer who still believes in Santa Claus, romance and the Harvard men's basketball program.