File this under the "better late than never" category.  It's gonna seem like old news, because it is, but I said I would write something up, so here it is.  Live, from (thankfully) non-bullet riddled North Corvallis, it's...

(Bonus points assigned to any who caught the trail-off reference.)  Well, I was able to make it to the basketball game against Stanford on Thursday night.  I had called the ticket office at lunchtime, but the guy told me there was no need to pay a $10.00 Will Call fee, since they weren't expecting anywhere near a sellout.  We need to change that!  I'm sure it's coming, though, given the team's renaissance this year.  Anyhow, we just walked up and bought tickets at game time.  There wasn't even a line.  Convenient, but somewhat disheartening at the same time - I wish more had been there to make Gill rock, and to witness the team's total domination of the Cardinal.  I must admit, though, that I hadn't planned on attending when I thought the only seats available were $25.00 chairbacks.  I thought I'd just stay home and watch on TV.  Then I found out that there was plenty of bench seating available at $15.00 a pop, and there would be no TV coverage!  So, to the game we went.

Normally,  buying bench seating will land you with a good group of fans who want to be at the game because they're into it and the team, despite having to sit up high.  You can stand and yell all you want, and those around you will most often join in, everybody feeding off each other's energy.  Unfortunately, on this particular night, our bench tickets put us right behind a group of about 20 middle school aged kids.  It must have been the Spanish club, or a group of exchange students and a couple host kids.  Whoever they were, they didn't care one iota for basketball, and were concerned mostly with taking photos of each other eating a hotdog or drinking a soda, or with a continual need to get up and walk down to talk to their friends at the end of the row for a few seconds, then walk back, causing a constant obstruction of view and endless frustration for the fans behind them.

Ahem... well, venting of frustration aside, the game itself was enjoyable in that we really took it to the Tree from the opening tip.  Stanford controlled the ball first, but Seth Tarver stole it away within a few seconds.  It was obvious that our defense really gave them fits.  We constantly trapped guards between the sideline and the half-court line as soon as they got the ball across.  I don't know how many steals and turnovers we created, but it seemed like a lot.  I wish I had brought a radio so I could hear the tone in Mike Parker's voice.  I'll be he was pretty wound up.

On the offensive side, you could just tell that Big Roe was going to have a good night.  The first time he got the ball, he took two or three power dribbles and backed his defender up under the basket, then made a quick spin and dropped home a basket like it was the easiest thing in the world.  He had confidence written all over him, as if he was thinking, "Tonight, I'm just going to exert my will on you.  Bring it!"  When he got the ball at the top of the key, Stanford tried the Hack-a-Roe game, usually with two players.  He was getting smacked left and right, but kept his cool and dribbled into the defenders at a slant to draw the foul.  I thought it interesting what the officials decided they would blow the whistle for at the beginning.  If he was just pivoting around at the top, getting mugged, no calls... but if he put the ball on the floor and got even a tiny bump, then TWEEET!

I suppose I could write a lot more, but then your eyes would glaze over and you'd quit reading.  After all, it is old news, having now completed the sweep of the Bay Area schools.  I just wish there had been some more fans there, to offset the bunch I was near, and enough to make the house shake after Roe's two-handed slam near the end of the game, with no Stanford player in sight.  That was pretty cool.  It was great to be there for a home victory.