By Cade Kennedy, Sports Editor
Northwestern took care of business Monday night inside Percefull Fieldhouse by sweeping Southwestern, with the women pulverizing the Bulldogs and the men rallying to win.
While I could go on about certain plays and stats, the main number that stuck out to me was the attendance: 871.
This was by far the largest crowd we had this season for a basketball game, and the impact was noticeable.
For the first time all year, Percefull Fieldhouse felt like a normal arena.
Fans were cheering, clapping and yelling, the band was playing loud and proud and everyone from the students to the season ticket holders were completely invested in the game.
During the entire overtime period of the men’s game, everybody was on their feet. It was truly a sight to behold, as the Rangers fed off the energy of the crowd to put the Bulldogs away for good.
While I was thrilled to see such a spectacular sight, I had one question as I made my way back to my car: Where was this energy and enthusiasm before, and why have we not seen it anywhere else?
When I went to both the softball and baseball home openers, they looked and felt completely different from what happened Monday night.
While I was at the baseball game against Newman, I counted 30 people at the game, and that’s including staff such as the scoreboard operators and athletic communications.
I understand that the difference between a Monday night against a rival and a Tuesday afternoon game will have different attendances by default, as people have other tasks to do.
However, it should not be a difference of more than 800 people. If just half of the student body that showed up for basketball went to other games, we could easily have one of the best environments in the Great American Conference.
It only takes 500 people to fill up the baseball stadium and 100 for softball, so both stadiums can be sold out for every game.
By simply showing your support and being rowdy, the players will play better knowing that everyone is behind them, not just a few people.