So Much The Same, And So Much Better

Yesterday I took the trip down I-85 to see my second favorite Wildcat team. The popularity of the basketball program has exploded since I last attended a game, and although I'd heard about the difference I didn't really understand until I saw it myself. The town bar was crowded before the sold out game, and it seemed like there were more people there in Davidson gear than there were in the student section at games five years ago. The bar was packed after the game, too. The wait for a table was nearly an hour and it took quite a while to get a drink. It was the kind of crowd you would expect to see on a homecoming weekend, not an average January weekend where the 'Cats played a so-so conference opponent.

Although the atmosphere was so different there were some things that were exactly the same. The cheerleaders nearly dropped someone, and their routines hadn't changed much. There were still seven year-olds racing to put on an oversized uniform and make a layup during a media timeout. The buses from The Pines were still parked outside promptly after the game to take home the senior citizens in their Davidson sweaters and knitted vests.

It's good to know that although the crowd was larger, the bleachers had backs, and press row was fuller, it was still Davidson.