Without bands. No cheerleading teams. No building crammed with neutral fans suddenly lending their support to an unlucky double-digit underdog in hopes of causing a turnaround.
The games during the first week of the NCAA Tournament still brought madness – see: Oral Roberts, North Texas, Ohio and Abilene Christian – but it is a very different version of the past.
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However, despite the restrictions, despite the lack of fans with a maximum capacity of 22% and despite the teams being isolated from friends and family – the joy is still there. The March fabric will always include twists and big shots and they have already come in large quantities.
In March of this year, things are a little calmer.
“We played most of the year with few or no fans. I think that atmosphere, that part of the experience for student-athletes is clearly absent,” said Wisconsin coach Greg Gard. “So when you add just a few to the crowd, it makes a difference. It adds life to the building.”
One of the hallmarks of past NCAA tournaments is the atmosphere. The crowded arenas mixed with obstinate travelers and neutral locations. The city centers overflowing with visitors, the costumes and the painted faces. The piccolo girl from Villanova and more.
There is still a little bit of that in Indianapolis this year. But it is on a much smaller scale and the outline is obvious. Police vehicles and metal barricades surround parts of the city center around the hotel bubble, where tournament teams are staying. Skyways they use to walk to training are closed.
The meaning is clear. Family, friends and fans are outside looking inside.
“I haven’t seen my wife or kids in over a week, so obviously I miss them a lot. I wave to my wife through the hotel window every day since she got here,” said Abilene Christian coach Joe Golding. after the 14th sowing, the Wildcats stunned Texas # 3 seed. “This is the hard part of being here. I wish I could celebrate with them because it is the rock of the family.”
The fans are still here. Syracuse, Illinois and Oregon State oranges still burst in the crowd. The Hogs were definitely being called up at local establishments after Arkansas’s opening victory.
Supporters from Baylor, Gonzaga and Illinois expect long stays. The medium green of northern Texas, the golden eagles of Oral Roberts and the Golding Wildcats are lasting longer than most people imagined.
But is different. It would have to be different to function in a bubble and that translated into an atmosphere that is not peaceful in a library, but it is also not a rock asylum.
The NCAA gave little nods to each participating school, whether it be the fighting songs playing when the teams take the track, or video performances of the cheering teams from each school being played at halftime.
The national anthem? It’s a recording. Coaches’ instructions and criticisms are often heard clearly during games. And don’t expect crowd noise to hinder free throws in the final seconds.
“You are used to running to most crowded houses. Obviously this is different. I think we are grateful that there are fans here,” said Illinois coach Brad Underwood after winning in the first round. “But it is a little different feeling. After the ball is thrown, the game is the game, and it is different like that. But I am ecstatic that we are playing. Our players are ecstatic that we are playing. There is going to be a champion. “
It’s not all about obsolete atmospheres and quiet library locations. Georgia Tech students roared inside the Hinkle Fieldhouse until they were silenced by Loyola Chicago. The same was true of the hundreds of Grand Canyon students – known as Havocs – who were present in the first round of confrontation against Iowa.
Screams of “UK” echoed through the Bankers Life Fieldhouse when Rutgers won his first tournament game since 1983. Abilene Christian fans made Lucas Oil Stadium swing well after midnight, taking advantage of the turnaround at the main school in his home state.
For the guys from North Texas, who got one of the big surprises from the first round by knocking out Purdue number 4, they loved the hostile feeling of having most of Lucas Oil Stadium against them.
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For Mean Green, it definitely felt like March.
“We are doing something we love to do, play basketball. Yes, I want to experience the crowd, the sellout,” said Javion Hamet, a North Texas star. “But it was still loud there (Friday) night. It looked like there were 10 or 20,000 fans there when Purdue ran out. No, I don’t feel like we’re being fooled.”
North Texas coach Grant McCasland added: “We were playing against an Indiana team, the only Indiana team in the tournament, in Indianapolis and I thought it was a really good atmosphere, considering. Our guys loved it, man. It was a blast . “