On Saturday, April 22, at Orlando’s Amway Center, the atmosphere was upbeat. Fans from all over came to watch teams in the NCAA Basketball March Madness Tournament play.
There were two matchups for the day. The University of Pittsburgh played the Florida Gators, the heavy favorite to win the National Championship. Saint Louis University also played the University of Louisville, the defending champions.
Attendance was unimpressive for a Saturday afternoon. The crowd was filled with college students. Alumni from the four schools filled their respective student sections. Few children were present. The drunken behavior of the crowd was not conducive for kids.
I moved around and got a gist of what the student section of the Gators was like during the Florida game. After each missed shot by the Gators, I heard different angry voices shouting and cursing, “___player_____ why did you take that f***ing shot,” or “Scottie Wilbekin, take the shot! Don’t f***ing pass it to him!”
I often heard one person celebrating the positives and then another dwelling on the negatives. Smiling reduces stress, right? I don’t think that those specific fans cared.
As a student who previously attended a Gators game this season, I rooted for them in this matchup. But I found myself irritated by the immature behavior exhibited by the crowd.
For example, Pittsburgh’s band played exceptionally during timeouts. Many Gator fans showed no respect, chanting, “Nobody wants to hear your sh**,” and “nobody cares about you.” It seemed as if they were joking, but their anger toward their opponent became readily apparent. It was as if nothing at the moment was more important than this one Round of 32 game that would eventually advance them to Memphis, Tenn. for the Sweet 16.
The Gators’ defense made big plays throughout and made Pittsburgh’s offense look horrendous. The crowd began to celebrate more once they broke it open. I joined in on the chants and applauded each basket, steal, block and rebound.
I will say, there were more Gator fans in the stands than the number of fans of the three other teams combined. It was convenient for Gator nation to take fan buses from campus, located 112 miles away, and for the alumni who live in Florida to get to Orlando in a day’s trip.
The Saint Louis versus Louisville game followed. I was surprised by how many Gator fans stayed for the second game even though ticket prices included the two games for the day. Although I rooted for Louisville, I wound up in the Saint Louis fan section. It was significantly smaller than that of Louisville due to the fact that it is a private university and the student population is approximately half of that of Louisville. With a long history of success, Louisville has amassed a great deal more fans than Saint Louis.
Saint Louis just came off of a big comeback victory against NC State. The team’s momentum was contagious and it spread to their fans.
There was a small sea of blue in section 116 for the Billikens fans versus a bigger sea of red in section 107 for the Cardinals. Believe it or not, the loudness followed me all day. Wherever I was, I was in one of the loudest sections in the arena. Although loud, I could tell that many Billiken fans were much more mature and intelligent than the select college students screaming at the top of their lungs for the Gators. Their age and expertise of the game of basketball made it more enjoyable to sit in their section.
Fans aside, the games were great and consistently close throughout. Fans from the state of Florida and those who traveled here enjoyed a full day of lively competitive play. On a personal note, I was happy to avail myself of the nearby tournament as the locations change every year. The last time that tournament games were played in Orlando was in 2004.
I left the tournament on a high right along with the Florida and Louisville players and fans.
Greg Praver can be reached at gregory.praver@spartans.ut.edu.