Cowboy student section finds a spark
Don’t look now, but there was a Wyoming student section sighting Wednesday night in the Arena-Auditorium.
With school now back in session, there were actually some cheeks in the seats in the student section in the Cowboys 83-79 win over San Diego State.
It’s been a while and not just because school had been on a holiday break. The Sixth Man Club was effective with their support for the first time in a while.
In fact, their support actually got second-year head coach Heath Schroyer a little choked up.
“With about a minute and half left, I glanced over to the student section and you could see the passion on the kids faces,” Schroyer said. “Right there I said, ‘Wow, I’m coaching at Wyoming again.’”
For those who were fortunate to experience the noise level in the A-A during the Dembo-Leckner heyday, when Marcus Bailey and Josh Davis helped the Cowboys beat Utah for the 2002 MWC title, even when the Cowgirls won the WNIT a couple years ago: you know what it can be like.
Now don’t get me wrong, Wednesday night wasn’t even close to those times … not even close.
But it was a step in the right direction.
Let’s face it, there have been some Cowboy crowds in the last few years that have sparked more excitement at a wake. Attendance dropped from an average of 10,108 in 2002, to 5,262 last season.
Not all of it has been their fault, the UW program has struggled on and off the court. for the Cowboys, the A-A went from the “Dome of Doom" to the “Dome of Dull."
The bottom line is the Cowboys haven’t had as much of a home advantage in recent years because of the program and because of some sit-on-hands support at times.
Schroyer went to the UW fraternities and sororities this week to drum up some support. Apparently, it is beginning to pay off.
“If I could just say anything to the students, it would be thank you,” Schroyer said, “and come back out.”
As a young assistant under Steve McClain, Schroyer saw what an enthusiastic crowd can do for his team. One of the first things Schroyer said when he replaced McClain last season was that he was going to bring the excitement back to the A-A.
“For the first time since I have been back here, I felt like I was back in the A-A again,” he said.
For players like seniors Brandon Ewing and Tyson Johnson, they have been waiting to see this kind of support. Youngsters like freshmen Afam Muojeke, Adam Waddell and A.J. Davis saw what it can be like. Schroyer, in his recruiting, talks about how special this place was a few years ago.
“I think they got a glimpse of that,” he said. “Obviously, it can get better and I foresee it getting better. In the locker room, that’s all our guys were talking about, how great it is to play in front of our fans, fans who were in the game.”
The good thing about Wednesday night was that the support, as uplifting as it was, can get much better.
The same can be said of the young Cowboys.
With school now back in session, there were actually some cheeks in the seats in the student section in the Cowboys 83-79 win over San Diego State.
It’s been a while and not just because school had been on a holiday break. The Sixth Man Club was effective with their support for the first time in a while.
In fact, their support actually got second-year head coach Heath Schroyer a little choked up.
“With about a minute and half left, I glanced over to the student section and you could see the passion on the kids faces,” Schroyer said. “Right there I said, ‘Wow, I’m coaching at Wyoming again.’”
For those who were fortunate to experience the noise level in the A-A during the Dembo-Leckner heyday, when Marcus Bailey and Josh Davis helped the Cowboys beat Utah for the 2002 MWC title, even when the Cowgirls won the WNIT a couple years ago: you know what it can be like.
Now don’t get me wrong, Wednesday night wasn’t even close to those times … not even close.
But it was a step in the right direction.
Let’s face it, there have been some Cowboy crowds in the last few years that have sparked more excitement at a wake. Attendance dropped from an average of 10,108 in 2002, to 5,262 last season.
Not all of it has been their fault, the UW program has struggled on and off the court. for the Cowboys, the A-A went from the “Dome of Doom" to the “Dome of Dull."
The bottom line is the Cowboys haven’t had as much of a home advantage in recent years because of the program and because of some sit-on-hands support at times.
Schroyer went to the UW fraternities and sororities this week to drum up some support. Apparently, it is beginning to pay off.
“If I could just say anything to the students, it would be thank you,” Schroyer said, “and come back out.”
As a young assistant under Steve McClain, Schroyer saw what an enthusiastic crowd can do for his team. One of the first things Schroyer said when he replaced McClain last season was that he was going to bring the excitement back to the A-A.
“For the first time since I have been back here, I felt like I was back in the A-A again,” he said.
For players like seniors Brandon Ewing and Tyson Johnson, they have been waiting to see this kind of support. Youngsters like freshmen Afam Muojeke, Adam Waddell and A.J. Davis saw what it can be like. Schroyer, in his recruiting, talks about how special this place was a few years ago.
“I think they got a glimpse of that,” he said. “Obviously, it can get better and I foresee it getting better. In the locker room, that’s all our guys were talking about, how great it is to play in front of our fans, fans who were in the game.”
The good thing about Wednesday night was that the support, as uplifting as it was, can get much better.
The same can be said of the young Cowboys.
Comments