In response to Brian Weber, I share your disappointment at the seemingly unexcitable crowds at the basketball games. However, I wouldn’t go so far as to put much blame on the student section. As a student, I can safely say we are frustrated at being as far from the action as possible. You tell us to look to schools like Duke, Michigan State and Missouri to get the famed Hilton Magic back. I totally agree. One thing that all three schools have in common is a student section that lines the floor. At Missouri, our players have to deal with a rowdy student section that sits right behind their bench and gives our teams hell through the entire game. You can look to Duke where everyone religiously dresses in blue for the games and the students are always in a very visible front row position on the court. This presence next to the court, I believe, is the first step in revitalizing our “Hilton Magic.” For some reason, people tend to react stronger to what they see than to what they hear. So when the students look down from their upper-deck seats and all they see is a sea of people sitting there politely clapping after an amazing fast break by Horton, it is very difficult for the 8,000 or so other fans to get pumped up. With a nucleus of students down on the floor, not 10 rows up in the parquet, but on the floor, the intensity from them would spread and Hilton Magic would be back.So, along with Brian Weber, I ask the Athletic Department to let the students come down from the upper-deck. I ask that they let our presence be felt and more importantly be seen. If Hilton Coliseum is considered a tough place to play now, it will become impossible when the students come down.Matt Cameron

Junior

Music