Bleacher Report - Articles by Isaac Higham

B/R Home Court Advantage: Utah State's Dee Glen Smith Spectrum

Isaac Higham — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 13:04:50 -0500

High noon. Seven hours before the Utah State Aggies tip-off against the Boise State Broncos, and fans are already gathering outside the doors that lead into their basketball shrine: The Spectrum.

Fans clad in dark blue (Aggie Blue), along with their laptops, textbooks, homework, card games, and snack foods, are strewn out across the floor.

Seconds seem like days. Minutes pass slower than finals week. The excitement in the air is so thick it's like sharing an elevator with a woman wearing far too much perfume.

Lucky for Aggie fans, they will have a respite from their waiting—if only for a few hours. There is a women's game at 3:00, which means the doors will open at 2:00—the customary one hour prior to tip-off.

By 1:30 the students have put away their laptops, games, and textbooks and have lined up by the doors. Each student—all well-seasoned veterans of the Aggie student section—has his or her student I.D. card ready to show to the usher at the door.

2:00 rolls around, and the students flood into the upper concourse of The Spectrum. Once to their seats, the students sit back and enjoy the women's basketball game (in which the Aggies eventually come out on top). The students, while supportive of their women's team, are careful to save their voices for the much anticipated men's game.

Following the women's game, ushers clear the house. The students trudge up the steep and narrow steps, up to the concourse, and out into the small space in between two sets of doors. One set leads into their beloved Spectrum; the other separates them from the cold winds of a Logan winter.

It's still only 4:00 pm. Three hours until game time and two hours prior to the opening of the doors.

All of this waiting prior to each game has created a tight-knit family of Aggie students. For the rookies in the room, the two-hour wait from 4:00 to 6:00 will be torture. But the well-seasoned veterans mingle together in conversations that seem to discuss every topic under the sun.

A couple of students are sent to retrieve pizza from the local five-dollar pizza shop. They are graciously received upon their return as the Aggie faithful consume their pre-game meal.

5:30 rolls around, and once again the students are on their feet in a formation as close to a line as one can hope for in such a tight space. While many of the tight-knit community have an unwritten seating chart with each person occupying the same seat each game, the situation becomes stressful and full of suspense.

The ushers are cheered as they arrive to set up the scanning machines used to swipe each student I.D. card. To the hardcore Aggies, these ushers are just as well known as the star players on the court.

The suspense continues to build as the clock ticks closer to 6:00. With each passing second the crowd packs closer and closer while pushing more and more towards the front.

The first student I.D. card is already in the scanner, waiting to be swiped, as all eyes stare intently at the digital clock that reads 5:59.

The clock strikes 6:00 pm. The mayhem that ensues is surpassed by the chaos of black Friday Christmas shopping only in the number of trampling deaths and gang shootings.

Students fly down the steep stairs two, sometimes three at a time. All this despite community consensus of who will occupy which seat.

Once at their seats, the students don't waste time to catch their breath, but instead immediately begin heckling Boise St. point guard Anthony Thomas, who is warming up on the opposite end of the court.

Despite having already made himself a target of ridicule at the previous year's WAC tournament, the fact that Thomas is wearing a white T-shirt instead of the team warmups is not helping to spare him from Aggie heckling.

As the music blares from the sound system, the students watch their beloved Aggies warm up while sharing high fives and encouraging words.

An unfortunate incident occurs about 30 minutes before game time. A student in the Aggie student section thinks he can get away with wearing a bright orange Boise State sweatshirt.

This poor misguided soul immediately has all 4,000 students screaming at him in rage and displeasure as if he is Satan himself (and let's face it, who else would be dumb enough to try that?).

Within moments, one of the faithful Aggie women comes storming up the steps with a blue shirt in hand. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, but a scorned Aggie woman? Well, she makes a regular scorned woman look like an angel.

The student—proving he has some shred of intelligence—consents to put on the Aggie Blue shirt, much to the roaring pleasure of the rest of the students.

About 20 minutes before tip-off, two of the most dedicated students begin distributing The Refraction—the unofficial game-day newsletter of The Spectrum—to the 4,000 raucous students.

Eventually the music is stopped and, after a drawn out and overly dramatic rendition of the national anthem, the students turn from facing the flag and shout "1,2,3...Welcome to Hell!" in direction of the Boise State bench.

Music begins playing for the introduction of the opposing lineup, and the Aggie students stand and turn their backs to the court and boo each player as they are introduced.

Once finished, the students turn back around and start a slow clap: "Clap...Clap...Clap...Clap...CLAP. CLAP. CLAP CLAP" that culminates with the Aggie mascot named "Big Blue" descending from the ceiling and the introduction of the Utah State starting lineup.

After the starters are introduced, the PA announcer introduces the Aggies' head coach Stew Morrill, which is met with a loud and drawn out "Stewwwwwwwwww" from the crowd.

The students, in anticipation of the tip, begin jumping up and down with the classic "ohhhhhhhhh" heard at college basketball games around the country.

Play begins as the students begin chanting any of the number of cheers in their arsenal.

A whistle is blown. A foul on Boise State. This is immediately met with coordinated pointing and yelling: "You, you, you, you, youuuuuu SUCK!" directed at the guilty player.

As play continues, boos rain down from the stands each time Anthony Thomas touches the ball. Eventually, a Boise State player is sent to the free throw line. The students chant, slowly at first and then speeding up: "You...will...miss...it."

The foul shot clanks off the iron, and the crowd erupts in cheers. As the player toes the line for his second attempt, he is met with chants of "We were right" lest he forget the students calling his miss on the previous shot.

As the Aggies head into the locker room with a halftime lead, the band begins playing the school fight song:

"Hail the Utah Aggies, we'll play the game with all our might! See the colors flying, the Aggie blue and fighting white. How they stir us onward, to win the victory alright! Hail the Utah Aggies, they're out to win so fight, fight, fight! Utah State hey Aggies all the way! Go Aggies, go Aggies, hey, hey, hey!"

Immediately following the fight song, the band begins playing what has become, to some Aggie fans, more beloved than the fight song: The Scotsman. With its coordination of song and arm movements, the students (and even some of the cute old grandmas) get involved.

Students spend halftime filling water bottles that will be used to aid their already fading voices.

After some halftime entertainment involving some very flexible dancing grannies, the students rise to their feet to welcome their team back out for warmups. With the opposing team warming up on the basket near the students, each miss by a Broncos player is met with piercing screams of "Ice Cold!"

As the teams huddle up prior to the start of the second half, "Crazy Train" begins to play over the sound system. This sends the students into a frenzy, banging on the pads behind the hoop and clapping furiously.

The second half plays out much like the first, with the Aggies controlling the tempo on the court and the students giving Boise State all the hell they can muster from the stands.

As the Aggie players jog into the locker room following a 79-65 victory, the delighted students engage in another round of the fight song and The Scotsman before heading out to face the cold winter night.

As if these hardcore students haven't spent enough time together already, many decide to go out and celebrate the victory at one of the local restaurants that is more than willing to give these die-hards a discount for attending the game.

With this kind of dedication and passion, is it any wonder the Utah State Aggies are 19-1 (7-0 WAC) this season, with the nation's second longest home court winning streak, and a home record of 153-12 under head coach Stew Morrill?

The combination of a loyal fanbase and on-court success has created a phenomenon that has come to be known simply as Spectrum Magic.

Red-State Status May Spell Doom for Cards

Isaac Higham — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 19:54:28 -0500

While the vast majority of "normal" sports fans are busy placing bets, planning parties, and stocking up on snacks for this Sunday's Super Bowl, this sports fan turned political science major has been having a little fun of his own.

Day in and day out, the nature of my collegiate studies forces me to view the world through a political lens.

So when a friend asked me today which team I thought will win the Super Bowl—not which team I want to win because I am the type to always cheer for the underdog—rather than analyze the actual situation at hand like a normal person would do, my mind began wondering what political history had to say.

This curiosity got the best of me and I hopped on-line and pulled up lists of champions from the four major professional sports leagues—the NBA, MLB, NFL, and NHL—and electoral vote maps from the last 20 years.

Using the Presidential election results from 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004, I went through each league and recorded whether its champion had come from a state that had most recently voted Republican or Democratic.

The results, while in no way scientific or meaningful, are worthy of eliciting another unforgettable scream from Howard Dean.

In the last 20 years, there have been 74 championships won in the four major professional sports by teams located in the United States. Of those 74, 45 of them have been won by teams located in so called blue-states while only 29 champions have been crowned from red-states.

This is good news for the blue-state Pittsburgh Steelers and seemingly horrible news for the red-state Arizona Cardinals.

The numbers relating specifically to the NFL are slightly more favorable to the Republican voting states, who trail 11 to nine. But that doesn't necessarily mean that things are looking up for our Cardinal friends.

Of the last five Super Bowls held immediately following a Presidential election, three have been won by franchises in states that voted for the winning candidate. This does not bode well for the constituents of a certain Sen. John McCain.

In fairness to our Republican voting friends, Ross Perot's candidacy in 1992 threw a wrench into the gears. So maybe we should just look at the three elections since.

Of the last three Super Bowls contested immediately following a Presidential election (1997, 2001, 2005), the champion has come from a state that voted Democrat all three times.

No, political history does not seem to be in favor of the Arizona Cardinals.

But fear not Cardinal fans, according to President Obama: "Change has come to America." Come Monday, we will know if the Cardinals were indeed able to change the trends or whether the Steelers have notched yet another victory for the blue-states.

Dedication Develops Dominance for Utah State at Home

Isaac Higham — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 22:39:21 -0500

4,256.

23.

10,270.

Most avid sports fans will likely recognize 4,256 as the career hit total of Pete Rose and even the most casual of sports fans can associate the no. 23 with the jersey number made famous by Michael Jordan.

But 10,270?

That is a number known well among the faithful student section of the Utah State Aggies as the seating capacity of the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum (The Spectrum)—the Aggies' home venue.

This number, while not terribly significant, has become ingrained in the minds and hearts of the Aggie faithful. In the early afternoon on game days, students begin assembling in the small space between the two sets of doors that separate the warm arena from the frigid Logan winter.

For critical rivalry games, the students can be found in their niche even earlier (much to the chagrin of their professors). And mounted on the wall in this home away from home, there is a plaque that reads "Max. Capacity: 10,270". It is no wonder these dedicated fans—who will spend hundreds of hours waiting for seats over the course of their college career—have memorized the seating capacity of their beloved arena.

The dedication of the student section is rewarded by an athletic department that gives them prime seats. Over 4,000 rabid students pack The Spectrum from floor to ceiling. The design of the building ensures that opposing players feel as if every one of the 4,000 students are right on top of the court.

This dedication certainly has paid off for the Aggies who boast one of the best home court advantages in the nation. Utah State currently owns the nation's third longest home winning streak of 28 games. Further, the Aggies have a gaudy 153-12 record at home since Stew Morrill took over the program in the 1998-1999 season.

The Aggies (18-1, 6-0) will have their home court tested in their next home game January 29th when conference rival Nevada (12-7, 5-1) comes to town.

A rivalry game with first place in the WAC potentially on the line? You can bet the students will be heading to The Spectrum bright and early.

Regardless of that outcome there is one word that describes Pete Rose's 4,256 hits, the career of no. 23 Michael Jordan, and the 10,270 fans of The Spectrum: Dominant.