MSU basketball team requires support of entire Breslin crowd

Section 106, row 2, seat 3.

That was the number on my now-crinkled ticket to the MSU vs. Purdue basketball game. I was so close to the Spartans’ bench I could see the studs on Travis Walton’s Final Four ring and count the number of gray hairs head coach Tom Izzo got from the beating his team received at home.

Purdue came to play, and the Izzone was as loud and boisterous as they could be, but the rest of Breslin Center was not. When our team needed the support of the entire Breslin crowd, it was not there. And it showed on the bench. MSU was punched in the gut, and so were its fans. Purdue looked impressed at our fans and our White-Out, but by no means did they look intimidated.

Sure, Breslin erupted in all its glory when we were within three points, but that was once. All in all, the entire Breslin Center got jacked and rose to their feet one and a half times. The second time was for the exits. The alumni and donors who shared my section were as eager to return to their sitting positions as a fat kid that just ran a mile after most of the rousing plays. At one point, I wanted to run across the aisle so I could stand with the rest of my classmates so I wouldn’t receive the ire of the people sitting behind me.

Granted, good plays were few and far between. But MSU needs the rest of the crowd on their feet for MSU to be recognized as a nightmare for opposing teams. ESPN writer Pat Forde wrote an article listing the best basketball towns in the nation by conference on Tuesday. Eager to bask in the reflected glory of what is MSU basketball and East Lansing, I was stunned to see that Madison, Wis., stole our thunder. Madison — really? I dislike Wisconsin basketball as much as any Spartans fan, and after reading that my cheek began to sting. East Lansing was under the “also receiving votes” tag. The Final Four and Big Ten banners mean nothing in an arena without the whole crowd standing for its team, as Wisconsin and Illinois demonstrated last week.

Although troubled after seeing our team not answering the call, I know it will be back this season. It will be back to Breslin Center to fight another day. The Izzone is a great student section that cheers for its team, but it needs everyone to rise to their feet when the time comes, especially when MSU is struggling for the lead against a team like Purdue. Izzo has said the crowd is usually good for eight or nine points; on Tuesday night, the collective effort of the crowd minus the Izzone was worth as much as Derrick Nix’s lone free throw.

Roman Suhs,
Hospitality business senior