By Mike Norys
I can almost taste it. I am in my fourth year at college and on
Monday I will finally experience what I have so dearly wanted for
the past three years: a fun over-the-top collegiate athletic
experience. In these years of attendance, Cal Poly just hasn’t had
them. To put it in perspective, my poker home game outnumber most
of the attendance numbers at a Cal Poly sporting event. But Monday,
the season-opener for the men’s basketball team against Cal State
San Bernardino, can change that. And hopefully for my sake it will.
Professor James Swartz’ sports marketing class is attempting to aid
in the change with the cooperation of the athletic department and
ASI to set forth “Welcome Back the Pack” night. Let’s just hope the
‘pack’ is 2,000+ screaming Broncos. I’ve run this night through my
head many times. I picture the fans, decked out in green and gold,
cheering on the Broncos in the “Kellogg Krazies” section of the
stands. Painted bodies front and center and smiling faces
everywhere you turn. I see families enjoying a night out to a
basketball game with prizes being raffled and the night ending in a
Bronco victory. I see myself on the sideline, covering the game,
holding back my cheers as center Kaelen Daniels slams down an
emphatic dunk (well, maybe not, but he’s asked me numerous times to
write more about him dunking on people, so I’ll help him out this
time). Fact is, I see lots of things. Over the weekend, many of us
saw the rivalry that is Michigan-Ohio State. I know it’s
unrealistic, but I want that. I want to hate Cal State San
Bernardino. I don’t hate a lot of things, but I can start to hate
them, and it’s very easy to. You just pick on the faults of the
school in a stereotypical fashion, like how it’s inferior
academically or how the campus smells funny. Sure, these
allegations are probably not true, but why not spice up the night
with some rivalry talk. We aren’t that far from them in terms of
distance, therefore why not refer to them as that cousin who’s
smaller than you and is kind of annoying, but you barely ever have
to see him. And although I could go on about how I’m trying to
convince myself to hate the Coyotes, there is a really important
factor to the night that is out of my hands. The Broncos have to
win. If all goes according to plan, there will be more people at
this game than any other in Bronco basketball history to cheer the
team, but more people than ever to possibly watch them fail. It’s
not that I want to put pressure on the team, they just have to win.
For my sake, let’s hope they do.
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