Don’t expect people to fly out to Utah to watch the men play in the NIT. But we do have a chance to catch the women in person at the Smith Center on Thursday at 6:00 against Bradley. Even if you’re not a fan of the women’s team, they represent GW. Harking back to JFK’s inaugural address exhortation to us as citizens, it’s not just what the athletic department can do for us.
What can we do besides simply giving our money? Students don’t have to get on buses to Ft. Myer. The Smith Center bag policy and parking sucks but the Metro stop is right on campus (us old-timers should know as we listened to those damn air hammers when the initial red line was being dug out and constructed). Fellow students from the multitude of GW’s athletic teams can certainly take a few hours out of their busy studies to support their fellow athletes for a couple hours. Win or lose, the women play hard and reflect well on the university. Would be nice if those of us always lamenting the lack of fan support for MBB would make an effort to show up for the women’s NIT game in what is likely the last basketball game at the Smith Center until next November. Show that we care and that too can be reciprocated by the athletic department and the university. And if not, at least you get another chance to alternately pump your arms during the fight song.