The Sixth Man

Many thanks to contributor Joe Viddy for this.

For six years now I have called myself an Eagle. I have seen this campus change and grow in many respects, nowhere more striking than in Bender Arena. When I arrived at American University, a young neophyte, unaware of his surroundings, I did not care for the game of college basketball in the slightest. I did not know the difference between a Duke Blue Devil or a Georgetown Hoya. I didn’t come to AU for the basketball, nor did I even know we were a division I school at the time I applied. I never gave AU Athletics any thought or interest. In fact, my freshman year, I think I went to only a single game.

AU basketball seemed at the best ancillary, and at the worst a distraction to this student’s needs and wants. I never heard our name on ESPN. I never saw American University mentioned in the sports sections of USA Today, the Washington Post, or the New York Times. It wasn’t important to me, so how could it mean anything to the larger AU community?

Something transpired in that off-season for me. I cannot tell you who or what changed me, but I paid more attention and gave credence to our AU Eagles than I ever thought was possible. For the past five years, I have rarely missed a game. I remember vividly the night Craig Weinstein, a walk-on senior, made a three late in the second half against Navy in the last game of the ’04-’05 regular season. The arena erupted with jubilation. I can still picture the Lithuanian contingent of Paulius, Arvydas, and Linas and how we proudly hung a Lithuanian flag one night in the arena in their honor. I remember the chants for the players of yesteryear. Andre Ingram. Jason Thomas. Brayden Bilbe. Derrick Mercer. I remember the double over-time thriller against Army in 2006 and the agony of all those defeats by the hand of the Holy Cross Crusaders. I remember 2007, and the way we came from out of complete obscurity to beat our rivals. I was there when Brian Gilmore fought for that ball at the last second to hold off a Colgate drive. I could feel that ball in my hands, wrestling for our livelihood. And I was on that court the day that we tasted victory, the day we took home a championship that happened to be in the making since 1967.

On my trip down to Birmingham for the 2008 NCAA tournament my emotions ran the gamut. I lived and died with every field goal, three pointer, and turnover. I don’t think I sat down once and my voice was definitely lost to the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Center. The team fed off my emotion and I them. We were all on the same team, wearing the same colors, trying to attain the same goal. My job was to let them know I cared. I was not only there, I lived those moments. These memories will stay with me forever as AU’s history grows

With league play in the not too distant future, make it the case to come out to Bender Arena. Be there in whatever apparel you want to wear. We are an accepting group of fans. Come in suits or dresses, in fraternity gear or pajamas. Be blue, green, or pink. Just be there. Bring your friends and fellow alumni or students. Be there as these men hit the hardwood and wear their school colors with pride and exuberance. Applaud them for every free-throw, three-pointer, or steal. Be there when they need your help, to show them that you still care. Be the sixth man. Be an Eagle.