Let’s hear it for the Fans!
Today, I want to focus on an area away from the game itself. I want to thank all of our fans for their dedication and support over the past years. At U of T, we have some of the most supportive fans in the country.
First of all, I want to speak to our players’ families. A teammate’s family really is like an extension of my own. I know that if anything ever happened to me or if I needed any one of them, I’m sure I could go to them and they would treat me just as they would their own son.
The parents on this team are so unbelievably nice and supportive, it’s amazing. They’ve fed us, housed us, and helped us all out at one point or another. And they cheer and cheer and cheer whether we’re up by 2 points or down by 20.
There are a few regulars I feel need to be mentioned. Mike and Anthony DeGiorgio’s grandfather, who is affectionately known to all as “Pops”, is at pretty much every game we play. He even came to see us last year in Thunder Bay! (travelling to Thunder Bay in the middle of January is not what most would call a vacation). He is a permanent fixture along the end line at every home game, and is known both to the guys and to the event staff for his smile and genuine good spirit.
Next is Gus, who is known around the team as “Soupe du Jour”. He came with us on our trip to Japan a couple years ago and we got to know him pretty well. If there were ever any debates about anything in Japan, Gus (Soupe) had the final say. Even if you didn’t agree with him, that was it – case closed. The Soupe’s word was the law.
Next is my good friend Frank. Frank is very special to me, because when I got sick in the months before I came to U of T, Frank went out of his way to contact me and to help me out a lot. He has been someone I can talk to about life, and liver, and has been a great support throughout my time at U of T. He makes it out to every game he can and we always chat about basketball, school, and life.
Probably the loudest people in the crowd are our football and soccer teams. It’s a nice tradition that has started up recently between the three teams. We go to every game we can make it to in the fall for their sports and yell, scream, heckle, paint ourselves, and make as much noise as possible at their games. Then in the winter, once the fall seasons have finished, they return the favour. It’s pretty nice for us, because the Sports Gym is a lot cosier atmosphere than the Varsity Centre, and I’m sure the other teams hear them loud and clear!
Now we can draw around a thousand for a big home game, so I don’t have the space to mention everyone here. To those not mentioned above, the whole team notices and appreciates you there, and we’re grateful for your support.
I’ll finish up by saying thank you. Thank you to everyone who comes out and supports us, thanks to those who come to every single game, and thanks to those who come to one game per season. Our games would be pretty lame with nobody there – we love to play in front of so many loud and energetic people!
So thank you, and hopefully we’ll see you at our next home games! (Feb 6th and 7th at 8pm vs. Carleton and Ottawa!)
Until then,
Nick
