Reilly's Ramblings

Lindsey Smith- “I didn’t know how long the (basketball) game was supposed to be.” “One and done for me.” Camera work for basketball. Maybe use?

Katie McClintock – been to a couple of games before last year “I’m sick and tired of that guy always talking (next to us). It’s bothering me.”

Softball players walking over me just to sit next to me.

Story: As a mass communications major at Morningside College, going to a men’s basketball game was, in a way, typical for me. Helping out the video crew by seeing if they need any additional help setting up the cameras, have them connect to the director’s computer screen, etc. I haven’t gone to a men’s basketball game as just a fan. This basketball game is a college culture experience that I never thought I would be a part of in my college life.

I went with my close friend, Katie McClintock, to the game, the season opener for the men’s basketball program against Benedictine Ravens. My plan was not to go to the game alone. I arrived early to Allee Gymanisum and found out that the Morningside students go to the basketball home games free. I thought that I check on the video crew after checking up on the control room person, who is in charge of making sure that the game goes over the air. When I went up to the second level of Allee Gymanisum, the video crew had everything set up and waiting for the pre-game show to start.

I spent about 10 minutes hanging out with the crew and talking to two of the Intro to Mass Communication students observing the production of the broadcast. A Morningside fan came up and asked if the link to stream the game was working. The director, Jonathan Covert, checked and said that he hadn’t heard any other complaints about the link not working.

I went back to the first floor of Allee Gymanisum to find a seat for Katie and myself to sit in the student section. The first floor filled quickly with students and fans for both teams. The Morningside student section went from being a desert to downtown New York City in a matter of minutes. Both teams came out and performed warmups of shooting basketballs into the hoops.

I have never been this close to any basketball team before, even though I’m sitting in the middle of the Morningside student section. Sitting in the student section gives a new perspective on what the fans want to hear on the radio, what the broadcasters see on the basketball court.

Just being in the student section made me feel for the first time, an actual student at Morningside. The student section gives life and energy to any home game.

Looking around the basketball court before the game starts, there are people in every section of the gym.

(More to add)

Coach Sykes said in an interview for Morningside after the game that the crowd was “good and fun night all the way around. You can’t ask for more.”