2008 Woodie Awards
Pioneers will be back,so will new wave of fans
Brian Fitzsimmons
Issue date: 3/14/08 Section: Sports
School spirit in its finest form finally stormed its way to every inch of the Pitt Center and it was everything our little school thought it would be.
White tee shirts with Big Red's image on them.
Rally towels complementing the sonic boom cheers.
Students buzzing about the hype in the hallways.
It came in the form of a record 2,744 people inside the confinement where a miracle happened on Wednesday.
It was as if we've been waiting to tap the potential of what Pioneer Pride truly meant. Coach Dave Bike has waited 30 long years at the helm of the men's basketball team to see a crowd like the one that invaded the gym on top of the campus' winding hill because back in the days of the Division II championship team, Sacred Heart never hosted. As a matter of fact, the overwhelming turnout made Pack the Pitt day seem nothing but average.
"To have that kind of atmosphere was great," Bike said. "The student fans made this game into something. We didn't lose because of them."
The second-longest tenured coach in the country- next to Syracuse's Jim Boeheim- was at the top of the world in 1986, but always seemed to be near the basement of the Division I Northeast Conference since the program switched in 1999.
Bike and his troops came so close last year to reaching the top of the NEC mountain at Detrick Gym in New Britain, until the weapons that eventually brought a championship to Central Connecticut got the best of them. He sat in the press conference, doing his best to fight back tears, waiting for a day like Wednesday to come.
It came, and boy, you made the most of it. That was the miracle.
All season long, the Pioneers played on a mission- the biggest piece of evidence was the warm-up tee shirts that Drew Shubik made, with the words 'Unfinished Business' written on them. They played like that unfinished business was a thorn in the squad's side and now you will feel it too.
Despite watching the Pioneers drop their second straight NEC title chance, something wonderful happened. You felt the pain the players had. You shared a moment with those who made you paint your face, spend hours upon hours planning how many Dave Bike heads on popsicle sticks will be made, and gave you something to talk about in the halls.
White tee shirts with Big Red's image on them.
Rally towels complementing the sonic boom cheers.
Students buzzing about the hype in the hallways.
It came in the form of a record 2,744 people inside the confinement where a miracle happened on Wednesday.
It was as if we've been waiting to tap the potential of what Pioneer Pride truly meant. Coach Dave Bike has waited 30 long years at the helm of the men's basketball team to see a crowd like the one that invaded the gym on top of the campus' winding hill because back in the days of the Division II championship team, Sacred Heart never hosted. As a matter of fact, the overwhelming turnout made Pack the Pitt day seem nothing but average.
"To have that kind of atmosphere was great," Bike said. "The student fans made this game into something. We didn't lose because of them."
The second-longest tenured coach in the country- next to Syracuse's Jim Boeheim- was at the top of the world in 1986, but always seemed to be near the basement of the Division I Northeast Conference since the program switched in 1999.
Bike and his troops came so close last year to reaching the top of the NEC mountain at Detrick Gym in New Britain, until the weapons that eventually brought a championship to Central Connecticut got the best of them. He sat in the press conference, doing his best to fight back tears, waiting for a day like Wednesday to come.
It came, and boy, you made the most of it. That was the miracle.
All season long, the Pioneers played on a mission- the biggest piece of evidence was the warm-up tee shirts that Drew Shubik made, with the words 'Unfinished Business' written on them. They played like that unfinished business was a thorn in the squad's side and now you will feel it too.
Despite watching the Pioneers drop their second straight NEC title chance, something wonderful happened. You felt the pain the players had. You shared a moment with those who made you paint your face, spend hours upon hours planning how many Dave Bike heads on popsicle sticks will be made, and gave you something to talk about in the halls.
Be the first to comment on this story