ROWDY TIME SPORTS

For the first two months, there definitely was a feel that something was missing at Moody Coliseum that was there last season.

Well, definitely Markus Kennedy, that’s for sure. But more than that, the incredible atmosphere that rocked the 7,000-seat building on The Hilltop just seemed to be lacking.

Most of what had been missing, fortunately, was back on display at Moody Thursday night. Despite a week to go before classes start back up, meaning we had one more game with the alumni band playing.

And actually, having that alumni band wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. According to officials I spoke with in the athletics office, those old men with the instruments could be more vocal and vulgar than the frat boys and crab-suit wearers could ever hope to be.

Unfortunately, while the place and the red seats near the floor were rocking most of the game, helping drive the Mustangs to a 73-59 win over Memphis, there were still signs that the novelty may have worn off at University Park. Upper seats in Moody were visibly empty for the game, which were not to be found last year since the place re-opened.

Is this reason for concern? Of course it is. If SMU is gong to become a long-time power in college basketball, it can’t run the risk of falling back into the obscurity that college sports too often falls into in the shadow of the Cows.

Now, it’s always been like that in some way. Even when SMU had perhaps the best team in college football, the vaunted “Pony Express,” they still averaged only around 37,000 per game. That would overflow Ford Stadium today for sure, but it looked paltry at Texas Stadium and was supposedly one of the things (among the more well-known possibilities) that ultimately drove coach Ron Meyer to the NFL.

Shouldn’t it be reasonable that Larry Brown may be getting that same concern?

After all, it’s not like Brown doesn’t know what it’s like to have passionate fan support. He coached at Kansas. If you think that’s overstated: I saw a game at Allen Fieldhouse, just two days after Christmas, and the place was packed an hour before tipoff – in a building that reserves nearly half its capacity for students.

Last night showed signs that the people on the court for SMU were finally standing up and reaching their potential in pounding their way past Memphis.

By the time they are back at Moody on July 17, hopefully the people in the stands will be showing the full potential again.

Becau

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