Monday night was like a dream.
A sea of scarlet flooding the doorways to St. John Arena. Fans standing in front of every seat screaming and chanting for their Ohio State Buckeyes.
The same team might have been on the court Monday night, but don't confuse the St. John fans with the nose-upward, keeping-up-appearances crowd that usually fills the stiff Schottenstein Center.
To do so would be an injustice to anyone who made the trek to OSU basketball's old home.
Monday's 73-56 win against California in the second round of the National Invitational Tournament was a once-in-a-lifetime experience in the corporate age in which OSU athletics currently exists.
"It was really great to hear the fans be so loud," senior point guard Jamar Butler said. "The atmosphere really got us going. Every college athlete wants to play in this kind of environment."
This seems encouraging until one stops and considers this is Butler's fourth year in scarlet and gray. Having been present for wins against an undefeated Illinois team in 2005, and playing an entire season alongside the likes of Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr., it's borderline pathetic to think that this would be the pinnacle of playing environments for Butler.
For the first night in almost a year, the men's basketball team looked like it had something to play for - like they had a reason to become the team everyone thought they could be.
Jon Diebler still couldn't find his shot, David Lighty seemed virtually invisible and Evan Turner looks like his wrist is still causing some discomfort when shooting, but none of it mattered thanks to the riotous crowd.
Floor level fans spent more time criticizing officials and chanting "airball" than discussing tee times and tennis lessons, and it showed as the Buckeyes out-rebounded the Golden Bears and held them well below their scoring average.
Gray bodies followed up on missed shots and freshman center Kosta Koufos was a tough presence in the paint.
Absent from St. John was the Pavlovian reaction to big plays or key runs that remains so ever-present inside the mezzanine of the Schott.
An OSU game finally felt more like it was played at Rupp Arena or Cameron Indoor Stadium than Madison Square Garden during the Westminster Kennel Club dog show.
Maybe Monday will be just what administrators need to correct the problem within the Schott during regular season home games. Students would no longer be stuck in the rafters, leaving deep-pocketed socialites with first dibs on seats in fan central.
The Bucks head back to Earth tonight as Dayton comes to Columbus for a 9 p.m. showdown at the Schott.
Nothing can take away from what 13,276 fans were able to witness once again Monday night, but OSU won't return to the hallowed halls of St. John until sometime late this year, most likely for a meaningless game against another NCAA basement dweller.
I guess that's the sad thing about dreams - they always seem to come to an end.
Zack Timmons can be reached at timmons.60@osu.edu.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 4
Paul Feeney
posted 3/26/08 @ 1:05 PM EST
Zack,
Nice story, but you're pointing the finger in the wrong direction. I'm one of those much-hated people who occasionally get to sit on the floor at the Schott. (Continued…)
John
posted 3/26/08 @ 2:28 PM EST
The cheerleaders fault? You need some hip, new, and most likely corny cheer to get you going? What kind of fan are you?
And the students do show up. (Continued…)
Glenn Garwig
posted 3/26/08 @ 8:42 PM EST
over the weekend i and a few other old timers (BA Humanities 1978) became aware that the men's basketball team would be playing at St John arena; we decided to hike the 175 miles from Youngstown to see the game. (Continued…)
Dick
posted 3/27/08 @ 8:12 PM EST
Liked the story. Playing at OSU was the highlight of my basketball "career". It was rowdy at St. Johns and many of alums from the 60's voluntarily gave up the season ticket because of the new arena. (Continued…)
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