He shoots, he scores, and the crowd goes wild!
This is the famed success story of any good basketball game, and while the shooting and scoring are what the game relies on, the crowd going wild plays just as significant a role.
Immense hype has surrounded this basketball season, flooding the bleachers with Pioneer pride and hope for more championship banners hung on the walls of Fenton Court. The self-proclaimed "Pionation," the subject of many Twitter trends and Facebook posts, arrives at each home game eager to assume the role of the Sixth Man, ready to cheer their boys onto another victory.
Junior Brian Crader, a member of the varsity men's basketball team, realizes the importance of having a strong Sixth Man present on the court.
"The support we get from our student section is unbelievable," Crader said. "As a player, their presence definitely gives you a boost in your performance. After all, they are there to see us win, so why not play as hard as you can. I think the entire team would agree with that."
The Pioneers have an impressive win percentage of 89 for home games, while only successfully taking the W in 50 percent of games on the road, proving the impact of the Sixth Man.
"The more people in the stands the better," Crader said. It is much easier to feed off the energy of a large crowd than to create your own. That's why playing on the road in the OAC is so difficult."
Among the Sixth Man's top performances were last Saturday's white out, the referee imposter, and the appearances of Captain America and Blue Man earlier in the season. In past seasons, the Sixth Man was also known for creating and distributing fake rosters for the opposition that included personal facts about each player and for its very convincing portrayals of certain coaching staff members. Crader remarked that he loves "everything" the student section does, but "I do miss the Gumby suit. I'd like to see some new characters in the crowd."
The Pioneers travel to Muskingum on Jan. 25 and will next play at home on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 3 p.m. to take on Otterbein. The Sixth Man is expected to be in attendance; Crader applauds in saying, "Keep up the solid work!"
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