By Cade Kennedy, Sports Editor
When the Northwestern basketball schedule came out back in 2022, I knew there was one trip that I wanted to make. Southwestern, which is considered by most, if not all, to be our biggest rival, is under two hours away.
The Bulldogs have one of the newer arenas in the Great American Conference, as the Pioneer Cellular Event Center is not even a decade old. Several of Southwestern’s highest attended games since the opening of the arena are against us, so I decided to venture down and see how a game in Weatherford feels and sounds.
In my mission to see how rowdy their crowd can be, I found a surprising answer. The Southwestern faithful did not really seem to care about the significance of rivalry, or even just being excited that they were winning a basketball game.
When I made my way to sit down about 20 minutes before the women’s basketball game got underway, I could count maybe 20 people in the stands. I figured that students were still in classes and that the work day had just ended, so I thought I should wait to get a better estimate.
As the game went on, people slowly trickled their way into the arena to watch the Bulldogs play. For an arena nearly double the size of Percefull Fieldhouse, I expected more people to be there. For once, I was happy to be proven wrong.
Only 500 Southwestern fans showed up for both games, with the official attendance being 501 for the women’s game and 502 for the men’s game. Despite the poor attendance compared to other games, I still expected the crowd to be as animated as our fans can be during a big game. Once again, I was way off.
Despite the best efforts of the public address announcer to rile up the crowd, no one really seemed to care about the game. The only real cheer of the night came when the announcer told the crowd that Southwestern would not be having classes the next day. The cheering only lasted for a few moments, and then a sizable chunk of the crowd vanished out the doors, never to be seen again.
I can understand leaving the game at halftime if the game is a blowout, but to leave during the halftime of a game where you are only trailing by three points goes against every law of common sense for a sports fan.
Some of the other common sense laws of sports fandom seemed not to apply to the Southwestern fans as well. In a tight game down the stretch, Southwestern took the lead over the Rangers, and Coach Robbie Harman called a timeout.
Instead of celebrating that they had a good shot to win, the sound of silence echoed throughout the building. It might have been one of the most dumbfounding scenes I have ever seen. One scene apparently deserved another, as the Southwestern fight song began to play to counter the silence. One person clapped along to the song.
Compare that to the atmosphere we have when the Bulldogs come to town. People are shouting, cheering and screaming, which is what you are supposed to do. This is a college basketball game, so you are allowed to have fun.
I will give Southwestern credit when it comes to promotions, as they had several games and entertainment during their halftime shows. I feel that we can improve when it comes to giveaways, as even something as simple as a $20 gift card could work in getting people to stay engaged during a 20-minute break.
For such a nice arena, the Bulldogs do not use it to their full advantage. The entire upper deck is blocked off for some mysterious reason, and I do not understand the purpose of having a video board that does nothing but show advertisements. If Northwestern had the same facility, I think we could do a better job of creating a fun place to watch a game.
If you have made it this far, I will leave with a challenge. When Southwestern comes to town in February, I want people to show up and show out. Bring as many people as you can, and be as loud as you can be. I guess we need to show Southwestern what a real environment should be.