As the Shot was Taken…

On a Friday night during basketball season it is hard to approach 33rd and market without hearing, “D-D-D-D-R-R-R-R-E-E-E-E-XEL-XEL! GOOO DREXEL!!!,“ or smelling a faint smell of pizza grease. Drexel students love to have fun and love their school and are not afraid to show it. Any chance students get, they “rep” their school. Sporting evens are a particular time that students can do this. Most schools are able to share their school spirit at a football game. Since Drexel does not have a football team, students anxiously wait for basketball season to start. Fans get excited for every game. Students know that game night will always be a fun party! Especially on this particular Friday night. This would be one of the biggest games of the season. The Drexel Dragons opened the season with a game against the University of Pennsylvania Quakers. This game was well promoted offering free tickets on a specific day as well as a free DAC PACK t-shirts; and we all know how much college students love free t-shirts. Flyers were posted all over both Penn and Drexel’s campus. Everyone knew this would be a good game and couldn’t wait for the opening tip off. The night started at 5:30 at Drexel’s Athletic Center (DAC). Here is where almost every Drexel student gathered to “get pumped” for the game. Everywhere you looked you saw blue and gold clothing, pom-poms, jewelry, as well as face pant. If you were not there in your blue and gold people would have looked at you like you were crazy!. There was an abundance of free stuff, and we all know college students love free stuff. You could get some food to hold you over for the game as well as pom-poms to cheer your favorite team on. The smell of pizza and soda was in the air, and everyone knew it would be there for the entire night. Some may doubt why so many people were there. Though some people were probably there for the free food and paraphernalia, it was very apparent the majority of attendees were there to have fun and cheer for their school. I am not one to argue that free stuff is not cool, but Drexel fans bleed blue and gold. This pre-game pep rallied acted as a perfect event for everyone to socialize and meet new people. Everyone in the room had something in common, a love for Drexel. After about an hour of excitement had passed, the massive number of Drexel fans started there walk to the game located of Penn’s campus at The Palestra . This was no quiet walk. The cheers from the fans could be heard over the loud honking of rush hour traffic. Not one person in the crowd was not loud and energetic. Due to the abundance of noise it seemed as if the pep rally never ended. The excitement that was built up at the DAC was being spread through the streets. Some cars even honked in approval at us and joined in the commotion. As I looked around at the crowd, it was apparent that these students felt like they were on cloud 9. Nothing could bring them down; Except losing of course, and this was the furthest thing from anyone’s brain. This walk that would normally feel long in the cold, went by extremely fast that night. Walking down the street in that crowd felt like a huge party. Before anyone knew it, the crowd was outside the building and ready for the real action to start. The second the crowd reached the gym doors, your could feel everyone’s adrenaline rising. Soon the players would hit the court and it would be game time. Even though in reality it was only a matter of minutes before tip off, those few moments seemed like an eternity. The crowd was anxious and ready to go. As everyone took their respected sides, the rivalry between the fans began. It almost seemed like the fans were having a “cheer-off” and everyone knew it. The cheers immediately started. People sat in amazement at the excitement. Others wondered who would cheer louder or longer or who would have the best cheers? Each side was determined to out do the other and took advantage of every chance they got. As the ball was tipped-off, the fans just got more rowdy. Their intensity levels simply grew. One would think that as the game wore on, the fans would get tired and start to die down. This was not the case at this game. The score was close the entire game. Each team took at turn capturing the lead. This made every moment just as exciting as the last. In the final minutes of the game Drexel was up by a basket. The Drexel Dragons thought they had it in the bag, but knew the game was not over yet. As the clock counted down, 5-4-3, Penn took a shot tying the game up, 2, the ball went through the hoop-1. The fans went nuts! They excitement in the room was so intense no one could tear their eyes from the court. The game went into overtime and so did the fans. The Drexel dragons won in overtime. The crowd went wild. It was the perfect ending for a Drexel student. Their faces were glowing! However not so much for those who attend Penn. It was apparent that they were upset. Some of their nights may have even been ruined. Hopefully they could appreciate what a good game it was though. These types of events, sporting events, are perfect for the party type of student in University City. They are a great way to start off your night and find a fun after party to attend. You are surrounded with people who want to have fun just like you. Sporting events are great ways to network and meet new people as well. You can meet new people from your college as well as people from the opposing team. You are sure to have a good time because of the enthusiasm that these types of events bring. They usually start relatively early leaving your plans for the night open. You can then fill this time with new friends you made at the game, or old friends you went with. I most definitely had a great time at this game. I would rate my night a 5 out of 5. The school spirit and exciting basketball game could not have been any better.