Jan. 11, 2008
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FRIDAY, JANUARY 11- 11:55 PM
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This post is a couple of days late…. but better late than never, right?
We all know by now that the men’s basketball team, ranked twelfth in the nation, started off conference play on the right foot with an 80-73 win over South Carolina on Wednesday night at Memorial Gym.
But for fans outside of Nashville, you missed something special prior to the game… something called “Memorial Madness.”
Memorial Madness was created this year by the Vanderbilt Student Government and Vandy Fanatics as a way to get students excited about the start of conference play.
And man were they excited!
Over 1,000 students started forming a line outside the Gym three hours before tipoff just to see what the “madness” was all about. The line extended so far that it wrapped all the way around the right field foul pole at the baseball stadium.
The first 500 were treated to Shan Foster replica jerseys (they were in such demand that I didn’t even get one!). Everyone could also register for cool prizes like a chance at winning a semester of free books. To top it off, one student would be selected randomly to have a chance to shoot a half-court shot for $30,000 at half time of the men’s game later that night (unfortunately, the student missed the shot).
Once everyone made it into the gym, an hour-long program was hosted by former Commodore and current Cleveland Indians pitcher Jensen Lewis. The program consisted of:
*Video highlights and interviews with the men’s basketball team on the jumbotron
*Performances by the Spririt of Gold, VU Danceline, and Cheer squads
*An introduction of the women’s basketball team accompanied by a t-shirt toss
*Baseball player Brett Jacobson put his girlfriend as well as Coach Corbin to the test in a game show to see who knew him better.
*And free pizza!
I was told the goal of this pep rally was to create an atmosphere similar to a midnight madness event, which is typically held by most schools prior to the start of the season. With the team off to its best start ever and the students just returning from winter break, holding the event after non-conference play ended up working out much better.
Actually, it was perfect. You couldn’t have scripted it better. In my five years here, I have never seen a student section packed that early. When South Carolina walked out to the court an hour and a half prior to the game for warmups, they were greeted by a rowdy south side of the Gym.
Big props to our kids for creating a buzz in Memorial… and it was definitely noticed and appreciated by the players and coaches. Let’s hope they can keep the energy going at our next home game against LSU!
Check out this photo gallery from the event so you can get a better idea of what I’m talking about. Almost all photos were taken by Steve Green, with a couple by Dwayne Elliot and myself.
VIEW MEMORIAL MADNESS PHOTO GALLERY
Well, I am off to Lexington in the morning with some other staff members to see the undefeated Commodores take on Kentucky. I have never been to a game at Rupp, so let’s just say I am looking forward to it.
