Hey you!

Why haven’t you been to an OU game yet?

By Samantha Franz
Sports Editor

It’s a Michigan winter at its finest. Temperatures have dropped well below double digits, making the commute from anywhere on campus, even the mere feet from the OC to South Foundation Hall, an epic journey.

Want a suggestion of how to warm up your sub-zero February? Put down that over-priced latte and thaw out in the O’Rena for a few hours.

Oakland University basketball has entered the final portion of the regular season, and the Golden Grizzlies have come out swinging. At press time, the men’s team is locked in dead heat battle for first place honors in the Mid-Con conference with Oral Roberts, sparking a rivalry with potential to become as fierce as the Bulls and Pistons of the early 90s. Riding even higher are the OU women’s team, whose seven game win-streak has propelled them to the top of the Mid-Con leader board.

Up until you read that last paragraph, were you even aware of that?

Since that cold winter day in 1986 when I came into this world, I’ve been a sports fan. Some parents will play classical music while pregnant, in hopes their baby will become the next Mozart. Others will read to their unborn child every night, so they will graduate at the top of their class.

My parents like to joke that when my mom was in the hospital waiting to bring me into the world, the fifth seeded Michigan State Spartans were on television during March Madness, thus introducing me to one of my favorite things in my life: sports.

And as a pure-blooded sports fan, there is nothing more painful to see than a bandwagon fan. We all know at least one in our lives. The girl in your Modern Literature class, who up until September 2006, could not name a single player on the Detroit Tigers roster. Or your brother, who suddenly likes Ohio State football for no other reason than, “every one else is cheering for them.”

Even at OU we are guilty of it. When the men’s basketball team made it to the NCAA tournament in 2005, many students weren’t even aware that we had won the Mid-Con tournament.

The same story came up in last year, when it was the women’s team’s turn to put on their dancing shoes. When OU held a celebration for when the Golden Grizzlies anxiously found out who they would be playing the first round of play, the room was full of media, family, and the pep band. Members of the OU student body were scarce.

It seems unless there is a national TV camera to capture the action, there is no cause to get excited about Oakland University.

Well, I say jump on the bus now, because things around the O’Rena haven’t been this exciting in a while. Don’t wait until March to cheer for the Golden Grizzlies. There are eight home games left for the men’s and women’s teams. What are you waiting for?

Merely a sophomore, Jessica Pike is having a career season for OU and is a major factor in why they are sitting pretty at the number one spot. Likewise, the men’s team has come off a non-conference schedule that would have broken the spirits of some teams…but not this one. Records have been matched and broken for this men’s team. Erik Kangas is ranked tenth in the nation with a 48.6 three-point percentage, and 11th in three-pointers per game, with 3.3.

This Saturday, Feb. 10, Fox Sports Detroit will broadcast the men’s basketball game against Valparaiso, the last time they will play them in a regular conference season before the Crusaders switch conferences. Who will win the final smackdown? Come out and find out for yourself, live. Go nuts for the FSN cameras, try to get the attention of Mario Impemba and Greg Kelser, and most importantly, get your Grizz on.

That way, when March Madness time rolls around, you can smile and shake your head at the students who are suddenly crazy about OU basketball.

You knew about NCAA basketball’s best kept secret way before they did.