Bullshit. ESPN Classic had the 2005 UNC game on last week and THAT was an atmosphere. 14,000+ with a packed student section that was deafening for most of the game. Yesterday was amateur hour - fuck, the entire upper deck was empty. Not blaming the students/fans that are close to W-S. I wouldn't go watch either...
I wasn't at the game yesterday but I'm calling bullshit too if the upper deck was empty. The 2005 UNC game was classic but unfortunately I couldn't get tickets as a senior because the
ENTIRE student section was reserved for screamin' demons. That's right... a senior who went to nearly every game for 4 years as a non-screamin' demon couldn't get tickets because we were that good and the demand was so high that you had to be a SD to get tickets.
I'll also throw the 2003 Duke 2OT game in as a legendary Joel atmosphere. 14,000 fans screaming at the top of their lungs for over 2 hours. It literally felt like the top was about to blow off the Joel. Everyone rushing the court after beating Duke in the second OT. First time we had beaten them in six years and 15 games. 8 players fouled out. J-Gray rocking a Bane-esque mask after breaking his jaw. Nearly the entire campus went straight to the Quad to roll it and then half of that group went to Daytona's to drink their balls off in celebration. Oh and I forgot to mention - a highly sought after recruit from Winston-Salem was in the stands that night and rushed the court with us...
If you want to be depressed or nostalgic read through these recaps of the game from ESPN and the OGB:
http://hdl.handle.net/10339/36809
http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=230440154
"Last season, students braving the cold and endless amounts of workload to campout for tickets were greeted with boxes of pizza
delivered by Prosser himself. His constant warm acknowledgements in chance restaurants and on campus served to further
bridge the gap between the student body and the university. It appeared that with the success of last season, their NCAA tournament performance and a strong recruiting class, the
Deacs were back on track to become a perennial power. Recent success, however, has been far ahead of where most experts and analysts ever imagined.
Such progress is a testament to the ability of Prosser and his coaching staff along with the support of the student body to develop a program deserving of respect. The recipe has been a success thus far this season as the Deacs claim an undefeated record at home. It appears Prosser is finally getting what he wants from the students and consequently fans have in turn had their wishes granted as well. Maybe the team and students are gelling into one compelling force and
the Joel, along with the Deacs, will be feared in seasons to come. For on the morning after that historic night when students struggled to morning classes across the campus, the one and only thought on everyone’s
minds was “We Beat Duke!”
Fuck I miss Wake, Winston, Skip and the roundball teams of yesteryear. That's why seeing us settle for mediocrity is so damn depressing. Happy to see some improvement from the team and happy to see the students getting into it a little bit more. Winning will do that but we're a far cry from where this program should be. If Buzz is the guy to bring us back to where we used to be then hell - I'm 100% in for the man. Unfortunately, I just don't think he'll ever be the coach to do it.
I implore any boosters reading this to do whatever it takes to get Shaka Smart in Winston-Salem. We'll finally be able to read more articles like the two above.
