By Tim Robertson

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Den Chants

Oh my dearest Hofstra faithful. I love your enthusiasm and energy every time out at the Mack, but can we get a little more creative with our chanting?

Now, let me state for the record, that I believe we should curse – to an extent, and when merited – and pick on an opposing player.

The a-hole chant in the UNCW game after a hard foul called on UNCW when a Pride player went up for a layup (pardon me for not remember at this point who it was) couldn’t have been better. The entire Lion’s Den immediately started yelling ‘a-hole.’ No cue. It didn’t start in one place then spread. We all started in unison, and stayed in unison. It was great. That’s the good.

Screaming ‘b-s’ every time a call goes against Hofstra just shows that the Lion’s Den is uneducated, and I knew we’re better than that. We know the rules of basketball, and know that Hofstra breaks them from time to time, so admit when our team committed a foul, was the last to touch it or walked. It shows more to the opponent, the middle-aged Hofstra fans and the Pride’s coaching staff that their student section has respect and an understanding for the game. That’s the bad.

When an opposing player dumps 17 or 18 points on the Pride and pulls down 15 boards, we don’t need an ‘f-u 32’ chant. I know it rhymes, but Vladimir Kuljanin just out played any Hofstra big man he faced. I’m not going to preach the whole ‘sportsmanship is respecting the opponent’ cause I know it goes in one ear and out the other (mine too, don’t worry) but it goes back to the concept of understanding the game. I’m not saying giving the 6’10 giant a round of applause after the game, but don’t rag on him for pulling off a double-double. That’s the ugly.

Reach back to freshman English, find original vocabulary and come up with some creative chants. Besides, if it gets too out of hand, the refs could give the Pride’s bench a technical, then Pecora would have to address us and we’d all have rose-colored cheeks of embarrassment.

Quit Breakin’ Hearts

Why must this team give the Lion’s Den such heart attacks?

Jackets buttoned, trash in hand (hopefully) and shuffling toward the stairs, the Pride shocked the Den against UNCW with its buzzer beater that sent the jackets off, the trash back on the ground and bodies leaping into the air.

All that for an overtime loss.

Fast forward a few days to Wednesday. Down by as much as 21 to Fordham… Wait. Fordham from Bronx? Besides the fact that shouldn’t have happened, those diehard fans listening to WRHU (I don’t mean to plug the radio guys every week) followed Antoine’s best career performance – 36 points – and heard the Pride crawl back into it on the heels of impressive defense.

All that for a two point loss.

Down seven with less than 1:30 to play against Manhattan, the Pride clawed back in to the game, and Ziggy (Zoggy Oy-Oy-Oy) missed a buzzer beater that would’ve won the game – after the shot hit the rim six times, making it the longest .5 seconds of my life.

And again, the Pride fell in the extra frame.

The team is young, so we all must show patience. Unfortunately though the standings aren’t based on the number of points the Pride lost by. Hofstra doesn’t earn one point for the overtime loss. This isn’t the NHL. It’s still an ‘L’ and it still won’t help the Pride come March.

The blood pressure rises quickly after a date with the Hofstra Pride. Guys, can you please at least make the rollercoaster ride worth it.