Poog wrote:

After years of complaints directed at each other by students and alumni for their indifference and apathy toward GW men's basketball (women's basketball is a whole other story), the student section has come alive this year. Byron Kerr and Jimmy Patsos have talked about it on their broadcasts. Jon Rothstein and Pete Gillen talked about it on CBSSports last night. Chris Caputo has talked about the potential of the student 6th man in the Smitty ever since he came to GW, even if most of us sort of rolled our eyes about the prospects for a return of the long bygone glory days of students circling the Smith Center before ball games waiting to get into the building to get good seats. Check out the decidedly sports indifferent GWToday joining the athletic website in paying homage to the student excitement at the Smith Center.

https://gwtoday.gwu.edu/georges-army-brings-noise-smith-center-south-carolina-rout,

Last night's awesome performance by the team doesn't have to be a one-off. Coach Caputo clearly has a vision in mind for this program. His players on hand obviously are buying in. His incoming recruits believe. Current students stirred on by the efforts of George's Army, other obsessive GW student fans and school media, and the energy and commitment of Coach Caputo and his players are turning this place and program around. The more those stands get filled, the more athletics gets its coffers filled with donations, the more buzz that gets created around the program, the more the school and its Trustees will have to pay attention to the value of sports at GW. We all know how much of a home court advantage the Smith Center can be. When GWToday picks up and disseminates a story about rabid student engagement at the men's basketball game, perhaps the rest of the university community will get the message. It really is OK for GW basketball fans to focus on the positive. It really is OK to believe we are seeing a rebirth at the Smith Center. (And it really is OK to show the same love for the women's team of Coach McCombs).
 

I think this is a great post. If what we've seen developing this season keeps rolling ahead, GW could be one of the great places to play and watch basketball in the DC area.  

Last edited by 22ndandF (12/02/2022 9:22 am)

Imagine Ryan and the enthusiastic young lady who leads the trivia challenge have had the most
to do with turnout.
So kudos to them for their good work in sparking student interest!

fwiw the GWToday article simply repurposed the article written for the athletics website. this is standard for their sports coverage

Steve wrote:

Tonic Trivia is a SHAM. IF YOU DON'T KNOW IT THEY TELL YOU THE ANSWER. 

It is worse than when I found out Pro Westling is fake...

What!? You mean to tell me a kid born in 2003 doesn’t know the exact number of points Chris Monroe scored in his career off the top of his or her head?

Gwmayhem wrote:

This really is an interesting phenomenon.  Did GW just not make the effort under MoJo and JC to bring in the students?  Easy to conclude that the students would come out for a winner but it's a little early to conclude that GW is back (yes to on its way back though).  Am glad that GWToday is writing about this.  The more positive publicity we can get in any forum, the better.  We've had our share of knocks for a while now.

Tomorrow has the chance of being a fantastic sports day, with the American soccer team taking on The Netherlands followed by a South Carolina win over Georgetown.  That would be quite the daily double!

I spoke with a member of the athletic department at the tailgate on Wednesday and he made it sound like there was a grass roots organized student effort getting students out. To what extent organized? Who knows but he said they were listening to other students and not old guys like himself.

Good for the students. Hope they keep it up.

Lets keep it going Tuesday night....

AT Hiker wrote:

Coach Caputo has done more to recruit students to attend games than any other GW coach in my memory.

This is great to know.  There are some coaches who would consider this to be either beneath them or of "low priority" in importance.  I love the fact that the message is coming directly from the head coach himself.  And yes, CC fully understands the value of a vocal student section and has similarly commented about this in the past.

Student section empty tonight.  Exams and getting manhandled by American having an effect.