Raise your hand if you got a ticket to Hoops Mania. About 400 of the people who entered the lottery did not receive a ticket for the first-ever ticketed Hoops Mania. Some people are complaining that they didn’t get a Hoops Mania ticket because they are the “biggest” ‘Nova fan ever. If so, then why aren’t there any fans at the baseball or soccer games? Why aren’t people decked out in blue and white at the football games? Maybe it’s because you really just want to see who is going to show up at Hoops Mania this year and tell people how crazy it was when 50 Cent or Mims showed up.

I’m not saying that in order to be a ‘Nova fan you have to paint your entire body blue and run around doing cartwheels, but it does amaze me how many people show up when the basketball team is highly ranked and how empty it gets at exhibition games or games against lesser-known teams. I must admit, I know nothing about sports and usually just watch the teams that I know. I’m not going to pretend that I am a die-hard Yankees fan when I have no idea who is on the team. But I’m not going to jump on the bandwagon.

Speaking of jumping on the bandwagon, let’s see how many people are converted to being Phillies fans since they live so close to Philadelphia. It’s just like how everyone from New England suddenly became a Boston Red Sox fan when the curse was reversed or the Yankees “fans” whose only reason for rooting for the Bronx Bombers is the number 26. I’m glad the Phillies made it to the World Series, and I’ve been to Citizens Bank Park a few times, but that does not make me a Phillies fan. If you didn’t own Phillies paraphernalia before you came to ‘Nova, then you are not a Phillies fan, and no – the free shirts from Orientation don’t count.

A few weeks ago, the football team beat the then-No. 1 Richmond Spiders, and this weekend during Homecoming, our Wildcats take on the No. 1-ranked team, James Madison University. Please do not be that guy who says, “I could have made that pass” because in reality, you can’t. If you could make that pass, then why don’t you go to the sidelines, suit up and make the pass. Go ahead. Try it. See what happens, and come back to tell the rest of us how it went. True fans don’t support a team depending on their location at the time. And no, living in the Philly suburbs nine months out of the year does not qualify you to root for the Eagles. No one likes a fair-weather fan, so cut it out. Think about it the next time you decide to leave the game when the team’s down.