Be Smart B-Ball Fans

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Let me start off by saying that despite the ups and downs of each season, I love being a Villanova Basketball fan. The first time I attended the Pavilion my freshman year in 98, a bunch of dorm mates and I got all dressed up- faces painted, and just went crazy at the game. I continued to get dressed up at every game, sometimes as the Wildcat, which I did for four years, and other times just as a crazed fan. But no matter what, I always loved being a fan, making noise, and getting in the other team’s head. This year is no different (expect for still getting dressed up). Any game I can attend, I do, and every game I can’t, I either listen on the radio, or watch on tv. And the season has been as exciting as ever- some nail biting loses, like Georgetown (bringing back memories of Miami and Tim Higgins) and BC, to name a few, and some great wins over WVU and just recently, Kansas. But there was one thing about both of those victories over undefeated teams that really bothered me as a fan, and it came straight from our own student section. We started to diminish our own team’s accomplishment. When your team goes out and beats the #2 team in the country, what does a chant of “overrated” mean. We are chanting that the team we just beat can’t be the second best team, because they just lost to us. I know that’s a fun cheer in high school, when you beat up your rival, but when you are playing a national powerhouse, and you beat them, don’t say that they aren’t a powerhouse. Say that you just dominated the second best team in the country, and that perhaps it is our team that is underrated. “Start the buses”, singing “Nah Nah Nah Nah, Goodbye”, chanting “Score-board”- these all say we outmatched our opponent, but chanting “overrated” says that they are not as good as people say because even we can beat them. As the season continues and our team continues to put up quality wins, let’s be smart basketball fans, and not diminish our own team’s accomplishments, but instead be supportive on the road to the Final Four. Go Cats!