When the men's basketball team took on Bates on Feb. 12 in a winner−take−all battle for fifth place in the NESCAC, it was boosted by a factor that has been missing for the past few seasons: a loud, boisterous student section.
Led largely by a contingent from the Zeta Psi fraternity — which also organized a pregame get−together at its on−campus house on Professors Row, a throng of over 50 students stayed on its feet from tipoff until the final buzzer marked a 66−62 Tufts victory. The students harassed the referees when unfavorable calls were made and chanted, swayed and berated opposing players.
"It was a good atmosphere and it was especially noticeable because it was something we haven't had for the rest of the year," junior center James Long said. "Everyone that night was great. Everyone was excited with it being Senior Night and with all the playoff implications that were there with the Bates game. We fed off the crowd. They brought great energy and I think they were a huge help that night."
For Zeta Psi, the idea of the pregame festivities and the effort to get a big crowd out to the game originated from three sophomore fraternity brothers who also play for the Jumbos — forward Scott Anderson, guard Alex Goldfarb and center Matt Lanchantin.
"We have some basketball players who are in Zeta, and they were talking about having some people over," Zeta Psi President Luke Metcalf, a junior, said. "They checked in with me, and they were the ones that actually put up the Facebook group."
Fans started arriving to Zeta Psi's house at around noon on Saturday, and by 12:30 p.m., a pretty large crowd had turned out.
"It was an open−invitation thing," Metcalf said. "A lot of kids who often come to Zeta showed up, but there were also a lot of people who we didn't really know, which was sort of the point. For me, I just invited most of anyone I knew. It wasn't really exclusive at all."
The crowd stayed at the house until just before 2 p.m., the scheduled tipoff time, at which point the mob made its way down to Cousens Gymnasium for the start of the game. The group, mostly clad in layers of Tufts attire, made its presence felt almost immediately and provided a stark contrast to what the crowd, the team and other fans usually expect.
"[For most games], at the end of the day we have to bring our own energy," Long, a tri−captain, said. "At this point, if you can't get yourself up for a game you're going to be in trouble, but it still helps. It doesn't hurt when you have a bunch of people there cheering."
The energy was ubiquitous, from the Jumbos' bench to the portions in the crowd not involved in the more raucous activities. Senior Pat Doherty, who has attended a number of games during his time on the Hill, thought it was the best crowd he's seen in his four years here.
"They were really into it from the first minute to the final whistle, and I think that kind of school spirit and camaraderie between the students was something I'd like to see more of at Tufts. It was a breath of fresh air," Doherty said.
All parties agreed that the presence of the robust student section brought substantial energy to the game and the overall game experience. Metcalf said that while fraternities should not feel obligated to organize fan sections in the future, last Saturday was a fun experience that could easily be replicated.
"It's definitely an opportunity. We do have houses that can host these things, and it would be good to see it happen more," Metcalf said. "Most of the crowd, but not all, was at our house beforehand."
Attendance at most Tufts athletic events, especially from students, is usually sparse, compared not only to Boston's Div. I schools like BC and BU, but also to rival NESCAC schools like Amherst and Williams. A few different theories have been posited.
"I think some of it has to do with size," Long said. "Some of those other schools are small and everyone knows each other, and it's a smaller network of getting people involved to go to the games. Tufts is twice the size of most of the other schools."
Doherty agreed that Tufts' peer schools have a unique camaraderie due to their small size and tight−knit community.
"I know other NESCAC schools where I have siblings or friends that have gone there, have had very, very intense student support for their athletics and it might be because they're smaller or because they're in the middle of nowhere," Doherty, who played on the men's soccer team for three years, said.
Though there is somewhat of a tradition of apathy by students towards Tufts athletics, both Long and Metcalf agreed that the fan turnout against Bates was definitely a much needed first step in the right direction.
"It's kind of like a rolling snowball effect — the more everyone is going to the game, the more everyone that isn't going to the game wants to go to the game," Metcalf said. "After the game, we were lamenting the fact that we hadn't done this all semester long. I think that if it did happen often, there would be better attendance at these things. They are events, but Tufts students don't really see them that way."
Metcalf believed that such large turnouts could easily happen again as both Tufts fans and athletes look forward to the spring season, which includes Tufts' defending NESCAC champion baseball team and defending national champion men's lacrosse team.
"It does happen, and last Saturday proved that, but it doesn't happen enough," Metcalf said. "It is fun to go to these things, and I could definitely see us doing it again in the spring for whichever sport."
