Editor's note: We're introducing a recurring column on UNM Lobo basketball by regular contributor Stevie Olson. The column will be called "From Section K," the area Olson and his family have held seats at the Pit for decades.
Dear Lobo Basketball Fans,
Seemingly every conference season, I become deeply concerned about some of you. I worry that Lobo fans have changed allegiances or simply forgotten who they are supporting.
The fans I worry about are usually decked out in cherry memorabilia. Sometimes they even have layers of lobo gear: the t-shirt with the new logo, the sweater with the classic logo, the jacket and matching limited-edition rally towel. They cheer when the Lobos make buckets to increase their leads and bask in their victories. These people look like Lobo fans and act like them--well, most of the time.
When the Lobos make a mistake or fall behind in a game, the fans I am concerned about sound more like SDSU students than Lobo fans. I hear it in The Pit when the Lobos are losing or the opponents are rallying. “The Lobos suck” seems to be the impetuous go-to statement for these fans. Sometimes, they are more specific in their criticism, “We are the worst coached team in America.” And whether we are winning or losing, they scream toward the bench, “Take him out!”
These fans even seem to enjoy the handful of Lobo losses in The Pit. They smirk walking out of the arena saying, “I knew we were going to lose.” While I was impressed they knew the Lobos were going to lose, I was confused for half of the game as to which team they were rooting for, and I wonder if they forgot why they put on their Lobo shirt this morning.
To be fair, the most intense Lobo fans love their basketball, and emotions spill over during tight games and losses. But after games, the most vehement rage is expressed. Local radio call-in shows are inundated with negativity. “We don’t even know how to play defense.” “Did we even do a scouting report?” Discussion boards and Twitter fill up with these Lobo fans’ comments: “Hiring Craig Neal as a coach was one of the worst things that has ever happened to the Lobo Basketball program.”
I want to offer two explanations that exist for this behavior. These comments may all be coming from passionate 9-year-olds who, while well-versed in the game, are poor sports and have not yet learned to lose. This is understandable, and other Lobo fans need to help these younger fans understand the ups and downs of a college basketball season. Or, because I’ve noticed most of these individuals have facial hair, beer bellies and post-pubescent voices, my other explanation is that these Lobo supporters are suffering from memory loss. During emotional moments, they forget they are Lobo fans, but the biggest problem is that they have no recollection of the last decade of Lobo basketball to put this season in perspective. If you struggle with this problem, here’s the cheat sheet.
In the five seasons from 2002 to 2007, the Lobos won a total of eight road games. They lost 43. From January 2002 to December 2004, the Lobos lost 29 consecutive games away from The Pit--that’s nearly three years without a win in another arena. This year Coach Neal and the Lobos are 7-2 on the road, only losing to nationally-ranked UMass and Kansas. I will go out on a limb and say Coach Neal, in his first season as head coach, will eclipse the five season total from the previous decade. So to the fan who sits in Section L, the Lobos are not the worst coached team in the nation. In fact, they are not even close to being the worst coached team in Lobo history. And to the UNM student tweeting about Neal being the worst thing to happen to Lobo basketball, have you ever heard of Richie McKay?
Now the Fraschilla-McKay Era is a blur for most, including me. For die-hard Lobo fans, it hurt--some may say it was traumatic. It is a reasonable cause for forgetfulness. But some may not remember it because they weren’t there. After the 2003-04 campaign, season tickets slumped under 10,000, and the average, as we know then inflated, attendance figure fell under 13,000 during the 2006-07 season. So, if you missed it, the Lobos have come a long way.
During the Alford Era, he started conference play 1-1 four times and 0-2 once. The 0-2 start came during the 2009-10 season. After those back-to-back losses, the Lobos won 14-straight games capturing the Mountain West title in back-to-back seasons and received the three-seed in the NCAA East Region. So, to impetuous fan yelling about the Lobos sucking after turnovers, consecutive conference losses are not a sign of doom.
In Alford’s six seasons at UNM, only last year did the Lobos break .500 in their conference start. As you may or may not remember, they went 4-0 with three home wins and a victory in OT at Boise St. Their fifth game was the second most-painful loss of the season. The No. 15 Lobos matched their ranking by scoring 15 second-half points and losing 34-55 at SDSU. While some Lobo fans claimed the sky was falling after the game, Steve Alford brought a reasonable perspective to the Aztecs’ dominance that night saying, “Losing a game here, it’s not the end of the world. When you are playing in a league like this, you are going to run into some tough days.”
After the Lobos’ Saturday win at Fresno St, they improved to 4-1 in conference play--the same record they had last year at this point. At this point last season, the Lobos had three total losses. This year they have four. With the majority of the conference season to go, the Lobos will have some tough days--at home and on the road. Enjoy the ups and the downs. As Lobo fans, we must remember where the program has come from and keep our feelings in perspective. And before you forget why you wore that Lobo gear to the game, remember throwing coaches and players under the bus reveals more about the fan than anything else.
Go Lobos!
Yours in Section K
P.S. Geoff Grammer reported after the Lobo game at Wyoming that the rim the Lobos were going to shoot on in the second half was too high. After emailing the Mountain West regarding the situation, the Journal reported that the Conference’s response was: “On the rim matter, if something warranted public acknowledgement from the Conference office, we would have sent out a release/official statement, per our normal procedure.” For me, this bold response reveals how institutions across our country have adopted cover-your-ass, politico public relations. Replace the word “rim” with “spying” and “Conference” with “White House,” and suddenly you have a press briefing on the NSA. As a society, we are left in the dark, unable to find truth. We cannot be satisfied with these empty responses. If nothing was wrong, explain why both New Mexico and Wyoming sports information officials reported that the basket was too high at halftime and then adjusted. If there is a legitimate explanation, give it to us. Isn’t this game suppose to be played with integrity?
Responses to “Lobo Fanatics Suffering from Memory Loss”