Sam Calvert
On my way to Lucas Oil Stadium this afternoon before the games, I heard one coach on the radio say, "Don't mess with happy." It got me thinking about what "happy" really means. Sitting in my seat this evening, I discovered the meaning. I found it in the students and fans that drove everywhere from six miles (Butler University) to 596 miles (Duke University).
Fans from all schools flooded the stadium, shouting to compatriots as they passed them on the streets and in the arena. "Go Green! Go White!" echoed in the stairwells. "Go Mountaineers!" resonated in the air.
Students were jumping and hollering throughout the whole game. The NCAA tournament put 600 seats on the floor for all four schools' student sections, two at each end of the court. The overflow students sat in the upper deck, but this didn't stop them from going all out during every second of the game.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJEY4VmGp8o&feature=player_embedded]
At one point, the Butler student section on the floor turned around to cheer to the students on the sixth level. The two groups yelled back and forth until they were hoarse. I don't think those students sat down for more than 15 minutes throughout the entire game. I'd never seen students jump so much in my life.
Or at least I hadn't until the Duke took the court. The Blue Devil students stood for the entire game. The seat backs were only touched during halftime. The entire section looked like a choreographed routine -- everyone doing the same hand signals and screaming the same things at the same time.
The Duke band helped. When the band began playing popular Cascada song "Every time we touch", the students jumped and danced for the entire song. I've never seen students have so much fun in the 20 years I've been alive.
Yet when West Virginia University star Da'Sean Butler went down with a hurt knee, it was the Duke students who were standing and chanting "Da'Sean Butler" over and over and applauding when he got up and was helped off the court.
Yes, the basketball was exciting, but more than that, the atmosphere and the electricity made tonight's experience what it was. I found happy, and I'm going to take the piece of advice I heard on the way to the stadium -- I won't mess with happy.