Sept. 1, 2011
MADISON, Wis. - The waiting is the hardest part.
Traveling for games is a unique experience. When you have a night game, there is a lot of downtime during the day, which is great for the student-athletes to stay on top of their studies (and for this Sr. Associate Athletics Director to find a quiet corner in the lobby of a Marriott and try to catch up on work). But as the morning turns to afternoon, anticipation for the game begins to set in and the ability to focus on other things begins to diminish. We kick-off in about five hours (as this is being written). The pre-game butterflies are officially here...
If you've never had a chance to attend a Rebel game on the road, it's an amazing experience that makes you appreciate home field and home court advantage so much more. My first experience traveling with the men's basketball team was up to Reno in December 2006 as the Runnin' Rebels faced off against the ranked Wolfpack. Very few gave UNLV a chance to win that game and I was not prepared for the hostile environment one faces wearing a UNLV sweatshirt among 11,000 opposing fans in blue. Fortunately, the Runnin' Rebels won that game in what would prove to be a watershed moment in the history of the program. Fast-forward five years later and we are once again one of the top programs in the West and new coach Dave Rice is taking the Runnin' Rebels even higher. And that win in Reno, in many ways, was the beginning of the run. It's a moment this Rebel fan will cherish for the rest of his life…
I've been to the Marriott Center at BYU when the Cougars ran us out of the gym. I've been to the hostile Pit in New Mexico to see UNLV both shock the Lobos and suffer a defeat. Those were wild atmospheres, but I have never seen the home-court advantage in effect (on the wrong side) more than last year's men's basketball game at Louisville in the new Yum! Center. As most of you remember, we were up nine in the second half. Then the Cardinals hit a big three and it was like someone turned on a switch. Suddenly, 20,000 people are against you, willing you to fail. It is an amazingly intimidating feeling that, unless you experience it, you probably don't understand. I know I didn't - and I'm not even performing on the court. That is how runs start and last December in Louisville, the crowd led the turnaround which resulted in the Cardinal win. It is a downright lonely feeling. And that is the very reason why filling the Thomas & Mack and Sam Boyd with Rebel fans for games is so important. We want the home court and home field advantage…
Experiencing this has helped me to appreciate road victories more in any sport. The back-to-back Runnin' Rebel wins on the road over Colorado State and New Mexico late last season was a much more impressive feat than most probably realized… And I can't imagine what the plane ride home from Wisconsin was like for the Rebels in 2003 after shocking the Badgers here 23-5. Imagine that, 85,000 people are against you and you prevail. Nothing says accomplishment like that.
Those are the moments that make sports so special. Those are when memories are made. Go Rebels!
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D.J. Allen, UNLV Athletics' Sr. Associate AD of External Affairs, writes a periodic column for UNLVRebels.com. A lifelong Rebel fan and a native of Southern Nevada, Allen graduated from UNLV with both a communications degree and a MBA. We hope he brings Rebel fans a unique perspective to their beloved programs. If not, at least he helps to take up space on the website. He can be reached at dj.allen@unlv.edu.
