No bands. No cheer squads. No packed buildings filled with neutral fans suddenly throw their support behind a cheerful double-digit suspicion in hopes of getting a stir.
The games during the first week of the NCAA Tournament still brought madness – see: Oral Roberts, North Texas, Ohio and Abilene Christian – but it’s a very different version than the past.
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Despite the constraints, despite the lack of fans with a capacity of 22%, and despite the fact that teams of friends and family are barred, the joy is still there. The fabric of March will always contain upsets and big shots, and it has come a long way.
This March, things are just a little quieter.
“We played with little or no fans most of the year. I think the atmosphere, part of the experience for student-athletes, is strikingly lacking,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said. “So if you just add a few to the crowd, it makes a difference. It allows the building to come to life.”
One of the hallmarks of past NCAA tournaments is the atmosphere. The crowded arenas mingled between itinerant diehards and neutral residents. The downtown overflowing with visitors, the costumes and painted faces. Villanova’s crying piccolo girl and more.
There’s something more of that in Indianapolis this year. But it is on a much smaller scale and the boundary line is clear. Police vehicles and metal barriers surround parts of the city center around the hotel bubble where tournament teams are housed. Skyways used to hike to exercises have been shut down.
The meaning is clear. Family, friends and fans look outside.
“I haven’t seen my wife and kids for over a week now, so I miss them terribly. I wave to my wife at the hotel window every day,” Abilene Christian coach Joe Golding said. after the 14th seeded Wildcats stunned the No. 3 seed Texas. ‘It’s the hard part of being here. I wish I could celebrate with them, because she’s the rock of the family. ‘
Fans are still here. The orange of Syracuse, Illinois and the state of Oregon, still appears in a crowd. The Hogs were definitely called to local businesses after Arkansas’ initial victory.
Fans from Baylor, Gonzaga and Illinois showed up to expect long stays. The average green of North Texas, Golden Eagles of Oral Roberts and Golding’s Wildcats last longer than most thought.
But it’s different. It had to be different to function within a bubble and it translates into an atmosphere that is not quiet in the library, but also not a shaky house.
The NCAA has given little nod to each school participating, whether it’s the battle songs that play when teams speak, or video footage of each school’s cheer squads being played at halftime.
The national anthem? This is a survey. Coaches’ instructions and criticism are often heard clearly during matches. And do not expect the noise of the crowd in the last seconds to rattle any free throw.
“You’re used to running out to full houses most of the time. It’s different, of course. I think we’m grateful there are fans here,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said after the first-round victory. “But it feels a little different. Once the ball is thrown, the game is the game, and it’s different. But I’m just ecstatic that we’re playing. Our players are ecstatic that we’re playing. There’s a will become champion. ‘
It’s not all old atmosphere and library-quiet rooms. Georgia Tech students roared inside Hinkle Fieldhouse until they were stopped by Loyola Chicago. The same with the hundreds of Grand Canyon students – known as the Havocs – who were on hand for the first round game against Iowa.
Songs from ‘RU’ echoed through Bankers Life Fieldhouse as Rutgers won its first tournament game since 1983. Abilene Christian fans rocked Lucas Oil Stadium well after midnight and enjoyed the uproar over the flagship school in his home state.
For the guys in North Texas, who pulled off one of the biggest thrills in the first round by eliminating Purdue, the No. 4 seed, they loved the hostile feeling that most of Lucas Oil Stadium was against them.
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For the Mean Green, it definitely felt like March.
“We do something we love to do, play basketball. Yes, I want to experience the crowd, the sale,” North Texas star Javion Hamet said. “But it was still (Friday) night hard in there. It felt like there were 10- or 20,000 fans there when Purdue was running. No, I do not feel we are shortchanged.”
North Texas coach Grant McCasland added: ‘We played a team from Indiana, the only team from Indiana in the tournament, in Indianapolis, and I thought it was a great atmosphere when we considered it. Our guys loved it, man. It was an explosion. “