Georgetown/UVA '82

[guru]

They're showing this game on ESPN Classic right now. What an atmosphere. Just watching it is a reminder that a place like the Cap Centre - or the MCI Center - can be a great home court advantage, if there's a team that's capable of making it one.

For all the apologists on these boards who have for years blamed facilities above all else for the team's failures over the past decade, take a look at that game again. It's the team that makes a building great, not vice versa.

[GUHoya07]

Great home court advantage??????? WHAAAAA??????

Didn't you see that half the crowd was UVA fans and that anytime UVA did something good the place erupted? I will never consider something like that a home court advantage.

I suggest you take a look at this years NIT game vs. Cal State Fullerton in McDonough, that is a home court advantage. I have the game on DVD now and watching it gives you such a great feeling. The place was ridiculously loud that night and it showed that we need a true on campus arena.

I never claim that the arena is the only important factor in a succesful program, far from it. There are a ton of other crucial things, but on campus arenas that provide a true home court advantage are more and more important. The era of NBA home courts is ending and if we dont realize that we'll eventually be left behind as well. If Im an apologist for thinking an on campus arena is a necessity and that we have to start planning for it now, then fine, but I'm standing by that view.#nosmileys

[guru]

Point taken on the divided crowd. Though as I reread my post I did mention home court advantage, I was more struck by the atmosphere in the building. A great team brings that.

Hopefully, JT3 is well on his way to bringing it back. As for the on campus arena, I agree that it would be great. But not having one can't be held as an excuse for failure, as it has been by many on this board long before you came along.

[GUHoya07]

I agree with that. There was definitely a great atmosphere at the Cap Center for that game, but it wasn't a real home court advantage.

I also agree that the arena can't be used as an excuse for failure, but something needs to be done about it. In 15 years it may be a legitimate excuse for the program's failure.

[FLHoya]

Was that or was that not Skip Caray doing the PBP work? Caught the very tail end. TBS did the original broadcast, no (hence TBS picking up the Dec. 2001 version)? Brings back some memories of old Hawks games from the 1980s. And a Braves game from last week or so.

Now, the 1982 game was a little early in the life of FLHoya, but I was in attendance at the "rematch" in December 2001 at MCI. That was just as good right? I mean, just replace Pat Ewing and Ralph Sampson with Wesley Wilson and Roger Mason, Jr, and John Thompson and Terry Holland with Craig Esherick and Pete Gillen...okay, I'm going to stop before I get depressed.

The point is, that game was certainly far from a "home court advantage" as well. In fact, I'm almost positive it was set up so that each team had a "section" behind each basket--GU somehow managed to get the "Young Alumni" side rather than the traditional student section. And you were quite literally staring into a wall of orange and blue.

But it was still a good atmosphere. Lots of fans (18,789) at MCI. Loud throughout the game. Really added something to the experience. If 007 would ever get himself a cheapo VCR, I'd show the game to him sometime. ;D

Of course, the game was right up there with the great frustrations of the past half decade of Hoya Hoops, if only because rather than missing the late shot as was our pattern around then, we ended up pulling within 4 points six different times in the second half and NEVER got closer. I know b/c I was so Editeded I watched the tape a week later and made a list.

The point though is: I think guru's half right. The building doesn't make the team great--I don't think anybody's going to argue that the current incarnation of McDonough Arena is a palace, but it was certainly rocking for the CSF game. But I also wouldn't say the TEAM is really the most important thing that makes the building great.

I say that because too often the excuse of some students or even Hoya Blue from time to time over the past few years for: "why won't more students come to games" was "well, the team isn't that great, so nobody wants to/we don't want to try to get them to."

That isn't a good excuse.

The student section has its moments every year. So do the "locals". But even in the Sweet 16 year, there were plenty of times where we could have done a lot better OURSELVES to build out own home court advantage.

It shouldn't take Ralph Sampson and UVA, or J.J. Redick's bacne, or Rick Pitino and Louisville to "make the building". We should be doing it for Tim Welsh and Providence also (because lord knows he never seems to care about the games, so someone should).

Best way for THE TIME BEING to "make the building"--get all of our selves to the MCI and be like the non-orange part of Cap Center on Dec. 11, 1982, or Dec. 20, 2001. And bring our friends.

Because the FANS make the building, whether they wear blue and gray or that puke green color Notre Dame fans have. We can worry about our own building a little closer to the O'Donovan all we want. But it's getting a little tiresome hearing "Let's Go Irish" and thinking "well, at least this passes for atmosphere". I'd kinda like to hear the "Yell of all the Yells" YELLED for once by 19,000 people.

(EDIT: 18,789 fans huh? Oh that'll quiet the conspiracy theories about McD and GU home attendance setting.)

[jerseyhoya34]

Another beautiful treatise, FL. I was thinking similar things about "fans making the building." I also am slightly cynical ( ) to the extent that I think it is tough to have good fans without a good team, so we may just come full circle in this discussion.

[DFW HOYA]

The attendance in 1982 was 19,035--a full sellout. No "89"-ing on the numbers.

The problem with the lack of arena talk is not about what it means for fans, which is important, but the larger message it is sending out to future recruits, future coaches, and to the Big East conference: Georgetown is not investing in major college basketball as most other Big East schools are doing or are about to do.

www.ucbearcats.com/sports/news/release.asp?release_id=3488

redstormsports.collegesports.com/facilities/stjo-fieldhouse.html

[AustinHoya03]

DFW said:

The attendance in 1982 was 19,035--a full sellout. No "89"-ing on the numbers.

The problem with the lack of arena talk is not about what it means for fans, which is important, but the larger message it is sending out to future recruits, future coaches, and to the Big East conference: Georgetown is not investing in major college basketball as most other Big East schools are doing or are about to do.

www.ucbearcats.com/sports/news/release.asp?release_id=3488

redstormsports.collegesports.com/facilities/stjo-fieldhouse.html

Interesting that St. John's is putting the basketball practice facility in the student gym.

Seems like that might be a good idea for GU's practice facility/Yates given the lack of space on campus/need to save on construction costs.

[paranoia2]

That game was so hyped that SI did a feature before the game including drawings and predictions. Many people referred to the matchup of Sampson vs. Ewing as the meeting of an irrestible force vs. an immovable object. It just lends more facts that Georgetown, John Thompson and Pat Ewing helped make college basketball what it is today.

[idhoya]

I had the pleasure of meeting Ralph last basketball season (his son plays HS ball here) and he is tall, somewhat intimidating, but nice and reserved. I did an interview with Ralph III and he was listening like an owl. I brought up the '82 game against GU and the fact that I was a Hoya fan. He replied with "really" and that was it. GU is not recruiting his son, but it's early.

[AvantGuardHoya]

I had the indescribable pleasure of being one of the 19,000+ in attendance at the Ewing vs. Sampson tilt. That was a hugely hyped game early in the '82-'83 season. We were coming off Pat's freshman year splash and the last minute loss to UNC in the NCAA championship and Ralph was entering his senior year.

As I recall, the game and its telecast was the brainchild of then sports promoter Russ Potts, who's now a state senator in Virginia. It was one of, if not the very first, major sports programs TBS broadcast. At the time, it also was the largest television payday for a college basketball game during the regular season. That may still be the case.

As pointed out in a couple of other posts, the game was not treated the same as other Hoya home contests. Tickets were divided between the two schools, so Hoya Hoop Club members and season ticketholders like myself did not necessarily get to sit in their normal seats. I had some very good seats at the time, but was pushed back to the upper reaches of the Cap Center for the game. No matter, it was a fantastic experience just to be there!

Our team was very young then. Patrick, of course was just a sophomore, as were Bill Martin and Anthony Jones. We'd lost Fred Brown for the season to his knee injury, so we started a freshman backcourt of Michael Jackson and David Wingate. Ralph Dalton was still hampered by the knee injury that wiped out his freshman year. We brought Gene Smith and Horace Broadnax off the bench. Needless to say, we had lots of ups and downs that season, but the experience those guys got was a major factor in our NCAA championship the next year.

Lastly, the Cap Center had a great, framed photo of Ralph being boxed out in a sandwich between Pat and one or two other Hoyas. At first glance you just see him and Ralph, but closer inspection reveals more arms and legs. I loved seeing that shot! I haven't seen it in MCI, so I don't know if they brought it along. Does anyone else recall it?

Precious memories -- Bring 'em back, JTIII!

[Deleted]

DFW - I'm 100% with you. I think inertia here - perceived or real - could spell doom for the program down the road. So what do we do? We ALL talk a big game on the board, but seriously... why not take the moment the program has and get something going? Anything! Letter writing, fundraising, whatever. Should we be sending these links to Jack DeG, the Trustees, Fr. McFadden? Something has to be done... so where do we start?

[hoyainspirit]

And I sat next next to AvantGuard Hoya for that one, and every other one. What a great time of life!!!