Getting Sucked In

To start the second game of the Charleston Classic, we had two above the Red Line schools going up against each other. While it was not Our Game, it was a relaxing start to the afternoon with Colorado edging out Baylor in a game between two teams that used to face each other in the Big 12. But while it was just a consolation game, the real madness of the day started with Dayton facing Boston College. Not just because for our readers it would be the first of three back-to-back-to-back games of mids vs. majors, but also because this would be the game with the most fans except for the host team College of Charleston. As mentioned before, Dayton brought over a thousand fans to Charleston. And as a result, it felt like the whole arena was there pulling for a Red Line Upset over the ACC to occur.

Generally at a college basketball game that does not involve High Point or South Carolina, I try to stay neutral. Even if I really want one team to win, I do not want to get involved in rooting for a team I will not be following later on. Doing so would add unnecessary stress when my feelings are not that strong to begin with. I wanted Dayton to get the Red Line Upset, but I am not a Dayton fan and do not care how this game affects their season. But the only issue here was that if I was to sit in a halfway decent seat at TD Arena that was not behind the Boston College bench, I would be entirely surrounded by Dayton fans. Everybody around me was living and dying by what the Flyers did on the court. You did not want to be the only one in your section not cheering when Dayton went on a big run. And to watch the game you had to be willing to stand when something exciting was going on for Dayton. I wanted this to be a casual, sit back and relax kind of game. But based on everybody around me, I had to be a Dayton Flyers fan for a day.

This was okay by me for the most part. If Dayton had been facing somebody below the Red Line, I might have felt differently. I probably would have felt differently if they were playing College of Charleston and the Flyer fans were trying to overtake the home crowd. I do not like a lot of traveling fan bases such as those of the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees where their fans come into another team's stadium and make it their own. It's not the life of a road fan I know, and such fans can act at times disrespectful to the traditions of the team actually at home. But Boston College was not at home, and they were the school with more advantages in sports. Dayton does average far more fans than the Eagles do, but Boston College can also afford a competitive football team (Dayton's football team does not even offer scholarships) in addition to a top-notch hockey program. Dayton had the most fans, and that was okay since they were the more likable team. So today I was just simply among them.

Unlike Dayton's first game against Colorado, this game would not be as defensive oriented. Dayton scored the first four points before the Eagles would get hot and be unstoppable from behind the arc. It would be more similar to Boston College's game the day before against Baylor, where the Eagles' Ryan Anderson caught fire to the point where he made a 50 foot shot at the halftime buzzer. Boston College led most of the first half, but Dayton kept making shots to keep pace. Then just like against Baylor, Boston College would not be able to keep their hot streak going. It turned out after the game that Anderson would be weakened by injury that we keep him out for their final game of the weekend. But Dayton would not slow down, and unlike the Colorado game were able to get the crowd to carry them on a run to end the first half to go up ten at the half.. I was cautiously optimistic in rooting for Dayton as things could easily change in the second half. But stepping up alongside senior Kevin Dillard would be freshman Dyshawn Pierre for the Flyers. Even to the Dayton fans around me more familiar with their team, Pierre would be a pleasant surprise to them. Like Dillard, Pierre ran into foul trouble the day before. But Pierre showed Flyer Nation his worth with a game-high 23 points as Dayton continued to pull away in the second half. Dayton would get the Red Line Upset by a score of 87-71 to the delight of what felt like a home crowd.



I have gotten sucked into rooting for a home crowd before, including at TD Arena before. I once did the C-O, U-G, A-R-S! chant on Twitter after a big College of Charleston win a couple years ago. I also always stand with the crowd waiting for the first basket of the game, a tradition also done at Southern Illinois. I have gotten excited with the rest of the crowd when the home team made a big play. I also once got sucked into rooting with the Red Sox fans on an 8th grade field trip to Baltimore when Pedro Martinez had a career night for Boston, and I kind of feel bad about that considering how bad the Orioles' fans must have felt then. But I did not feel bad rooting for Dayton. I got to understand the emotions of their fans, the strengths and weaknesses of their team, and got to feel the excitement of a Red Line Upset I have never experienced directly as a High Point fan. But while I wanted the Flyers to win this game, I know if I see Dayton on the road again I probably won't be with the Flyer Faithful again.