"For our fans, when I got hired, they were saying, "Boy, if we start winning games, you'll sell out the stadium and things will be great." It actually works in the reverse. You sell out the stadium, you create this game day environment, you're going to start winning football games. Our fans really bought into it. They bought into their role and their responsibility in making our team successful." - Dan Mullen
I want to know what our basketball team can do with a home-court advantage.
I had season tickets in the M Austin/L Roberts days, was a student Stansbury's last 4 years, & attending a game at The Hump was always an awesome experience. I was not around for year 1 of RR, but I attended quite a few games last year, and did not recognize what The Hump had become. I brought several people to The Hump for their first college basketball game, and was embarrassed by the lack of atmosphere. I tried explaining what The Hump was like for me growing up, and described the scene when the 2010 Kentucky team visited. Meanwhile, as our crowd was being drowned out by Georgia fans from Booneville, I might as well have been telling them the sky used to be lime green.
I'm not defending Rick Ray. What I want is for our players, the recruits, and this coaching staff, to have the experience of a home-court advantage at The Hump. How can we expect to sign Malik Newman when he is visiting a big-ass empty gym? As Dan Mullen has proven, the fans play a large role in success. How many more games could this team have won with an actual fan base supporting them? We've already seen how many games they can win IN SPITE of a divided, apathetic, and in many cases, ill-willed fan base. If you aren't willing to buy into your "role and responsibility in making our team successful" NOW, then what pride or responsibility can you claim for any FUTURE success?
