General

This Is Why Student Sections Are for Students

Mar 5, 2009, 8:50 PM UTC

This piece by Will Leitch appears in the latest issue of SN Magazine.

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â†µI didn’t have as much fun in collegeâ†µas I should have. Everyone has wildâ†µstories from college -- manic kidsâ†µflush with their first taste of freedomâ†µexperimenting, running amok. I wasâ†µnot like that. I toiled at the studentâ†µnewspaper 12 hours a day, graduatedâ†µin four years and foolishly acted likeâ†µcollege was for work, not play. Thatâ†µwas dumb. I have a pathetically smallâ†µnumber of fun stories from college. Iâ†µregret it. â†µâ†µMostly, I wish I had sat with theâ†µstudents for basketball games ratherâ†µthan in the press box. At Illinois, theâ†µOrange Krush student section rivalsâ†µthe best pep squads -- just a bunch ofâ†µscreaming loons singing “Oskee Wowâ†µWow,” jeering at Big Ten foes andâ†µmaking idiots of themselves in theâ†µname of all things Illini. They look likeâ†µthey’re having so much fun, situatedâ†µcourtside and causing a ruckus. Thoseâ†µseats cost thousands in the NBA;â†µin college, they’re 10 bucks with aâ†µstudent ID.â†µ

â†µâ†µSo when one of those Krushâ†µstudents offered me a ticket for theâ†µIllinois-Purdue game (on CBS!), I leaptâ†µat the opportunity. At last, 12 yearsâ†µafter graduating, I could live the crazyâ†µcollege experience. All night drinking!â†µFace painting! Mean remarks aboutâ†µChris Kramer’s mother! Bring it.â†µI envisioned a “You Are Here”â†µparticipatory journalism project, butâ†µmostly I just wanted to tell Chesterâ†µFrazier how awesome he is from aâ†µdangerously close distance.â†µ

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â†µI knew I was in trouble the nightâ†µbefore, when my contact, an ambitiousâ†µfreshman named Spencer Turkin,â†µsent me a text message: “Great news!â†µA bunch of us have decided to sleepâ†µoutside Assembly Hall before theâ†µgame. We’ll be there waiting forâ†µyou when your plane lands!” Wait.â†µSleeping outside? In the cold? Iâ†µsuddenly felt old. I texted Spencer : “Thanks and all, but I’ll sleep in a bed,â†µif that’s OK.”â†µ

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â†µAt 8 a.m., four hours before tipoff,â†µI showed up clad in orange and wasâ†µtold immediately by the groggy crewâ†µof all-nighters that this would not do.â†µWithin minutes, I was wearing anâ†µorange construction helmet, orangeâ†µsunglasses, an orange hunting vestâ†µand an Orange Krush T-shirt. “Better,”â†µsaid Myles Hastings, a senior who’sâ†µhead of the Krush. The doors openedâ†µat 11 and we sprinted to our seats. Iâ†µwas at courtside, 10 feet from Verneâ†µLundquist, who, I’m not ashamed toâ†µsay, is an incredibly handsome man.â†µ

â†µâ†µIt’s a lot of work sitting in theâ†µstudent section. You stand the wholeâ†µtime, and there are organized cheers Iâ†µhad to cram for. You learn what to doâ†µwhen the opposing team is shootingâ†µfree throws, which player to ruthlesslyâ†µscream vulgarities at (Purdue’sâ†µKramer, obviously), how to deal withâ†µthe refs (be polite but firm) and whichâ†µplayers need a boost when they’reâ†µdown (Alex Legion tops this list).â†µThese guys had stayed up all night andâ†µwere at the peak of their abilities theâ†µwhole game. Me? I was exhausted byâ†µhalftime. By game’s end, this old manâ†µjust needed a chair.â†µ

â†µâ†µThe Illini won handily, so I didn’tâ†µrush the court like I’d dreamed. But Iâ†µdid all right. I didn’t get thrown out,â†µmy helmet didn’t fall off and causeâ†µMike Tisdale to tear an ACL (myâ†µbiggest fear), and I think referee Tomâ†µO’Neill might be my new best friend.â†µBut, yes: I’m too old for this. Thoseâ†µkids have a lot more energy than I do.â†µAfterward, I bought beer for the kidsâ†µwho let me sit with them, sang one lastâ†µ“Oskee Wow Wow” and then slept forâ†µ15 hours. Turns out, college is still tooâ†µwild for me.â†µ

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