Rowdies give Chips big lift
In many respects, the most important part of the CMU men's basketball team may be its raucous student cheering section, the Rose Rowdies.
For those of you who don't know or haven't experienced it, this is the Golden Fever that sweeps through the campus and community during men's hoops season.
For some, being a Rowdie is a way of continuing to hold onto fleeting dreams of athletic greatness.
The rest of us view it as a way to cheer on our Chippewas and jeer the opposition with a hundred or so of our closest friends.
Although there has been a student section since there has been basketball games, the history of the Rowdies goes back only three years or so.
During the 1997-98 season, two vital cogs in the men's basketball program made their CMU debuts.
Head Coach Jay Smith and a group of 50 or so rabid Chippewa fans with gold t-shirts who called themselves the Rose Rowdies.
The group was the brainchild of Gary Friedman, associate athletics director and his then-assistant Jeff Rank.
The rise of Smith and the Rowdies has been almost identical and can be traced to one of the program's greatest victories.
On February 25, 1998 the Chips knocked off Mid-American Conference-leading Ball State.
Smith had his first landmark victory at Central and the Rowdies had arrived.
No longer were those crazy students wearing long sleeve gold t-shirts just loud and obnoxious. They were a weapon and likely the greatest home-court advantage in the league.
Need proof?
Ask ex-Ball State standout and current Portland Trailblazers guard Bonzi Wells what he thought of Rose and its newest quirk.
Central stopped BSU's charge to the MAC crown and with it the league's automatic bid in the NCAA tournament. Wells and company settled for a bid to the National Invitational Tournament.
Still not sure?
Well, were you there last December when the Chips took Wally Szczerbiak and the Miami RedHawks to the brink before falling in overtime.
Now granted the overwhelming portion of these wins is greatly due to the team playing extremely well. But that little extra bit, the stuff that pushed the team over the top.
That was the Rowdies.
The Cameron Crazies of the north, or are the Crazies just the Rowdies of the south?
Okay that may be a little over-the-edge, first we need to get the other end of Rose just as Rowdie.
But who would we put there and what we call it? Any ideas?
How about the Greeks showing their commitment to the team and the school and getting the 'Other End' just as Rowdie.
The team knows this too and greatly appreciates and encourages the Rowdies. Just look at their media guide.
The team devotes a full page of its guide to an open letter they sent to the student body, which was published in CM LIFE, and several photos including a full color one on the back cover, which was taken after the team's season-ending loss to Eastern Michigan last March.
Further evidence of the continued love affair between the team and its fans.
Great you say, how can I become one of these Rowdies?
Your first chance is tonight's meeting in Rose Arena. Sign up for a shirt if you haven't already and if nothing else get ready to show some spirit and make some noise for your Chippewas.
Your first chance is this Saturday. I'll be there with the Rowdies, will you?
