King James Bible: Lavietes Comes Alive for M. Hoops

They came to star gaze, but they stayed for a basketball game.

As word of a rumor that actor Adam Sandler might make an appearance at the Harvard-Yale basketball game spread around campus, students flocked to Lavietes Pavilion in the hope of catching a glimpse of the comedy icon. He never showed, but by the end of the contest that was of only secondary importance.

For in the meantime what had overtaken Lavietes was a basketball game and a basketball environment not present since Brady Merchant ’03 turned in a 45-point performance in his final game—a 93-80 loss to Brown.

For one fleeting night, Lavietes Pavilion wasn’t just some neutral court in Boston where the Crimson plays its home games. It was Harvard’s home floor—the domain of the “Crimson Crazies”—and neither the fans nor the players were going to let Yale leave it with a victory.

True, the attempts to distract Bulldog free-throw shooters were only intermittent and the chants of expletives—serving to express dismay at the perceived ineptitude of the officials—were out-of-rhythm and inconsistent.

True, the chant of “D-fense” in the closing minutes lacked the bravado that befit the situation, and after the 78-71 Harvard victory hit the books a paltry six people rushed the court while the rest of the confused crowd looked on.

But all that didn’t matter.

Merely by showing up and trying to urge this team on, the 1400-strong which packed Lavietes Saturday night did far more than they could ever realize for this young team. They showed that they cared.

In the midst of the most disappointing season in recent history—one which could see Harvard lose more than 20 games for the first time in 25 years—the easiest thing to do is forget about the people you represent. And usually that starts because it appears that they’ve forgotten about you.

It has to be demoralizing to play in front of home crowds of 213 and 321, like the Crimson did against Rider and Maine at Lavietes earlier this season. It probably stings a bit to play in front of a crowd of 892 for an Ivy League showdown with Cornell, when you know that a large fraction of those fans have come the whole way from Ithaca to support their Big Red.

It stings even more when you consider that for every Ivy League game there are at least 892 people in Princeton’s Jadwin Gym or Penn’s Palestra—a whole hour before tip-off.

But on Saturday night, the fans came back—showing the support that had been lacking all season. In return, the players treated the Crimson faithful to its most competitive game and best all-around performance of the year. Needless to say, both parties left with smiles on their faces.

For all of you out there that think that your presence and your support don’t matter, talk to someone who was in attendance at this game.

Talk to someone who saw sophomore point guard Michael Beal swat Casey Hughes’ floater about 50-feet from where the shot originated.

Talk to someone who saw junior guard Kevin Rogus hit the deck while drawing a charge time after time only to pop right back up and nail three after three on essentially one “serviceable” leg.

Talk to someone who saw Rogus pump his fist and point to the crowd as he strolled down the court to take the game-icing technical free-throws.

The crowd matters.

It may be a long walk across the river, and you might have “better” things to be doing with your Friday and Saturday nights. Judging by the emotionally charged performance the Crimson showed last weekend though, your presence is wanted and needed at Lavietes.

If you still don’t want to come out and support your classmates, that’s fine. They’ll be there waiting, ready to put on another show when some rumored celebrity doesn’t.

—Staff writer Michael R. James can be reached at mrjames@fas.harvard.edu.