Warde Manuel wrote in a Spectrum op-ed on Monday that there has never been a better time to be a part of UB athletics. But while the athletic teams may be hitting some of their highest peaks, Buffalo's student fans are looking for more.
Athletes, coaches, opponents and season ticket holders have called the Mighty Maniacs phenomenal, dedicated, loud, and even, "the best fans in the Mid-American Conference."
Best fans or not, for the second season in a row the Sea of Blue is scattered throughout three-fourths of Alumni Arena, which has recently caused some students to create an online petition for better seating.
When I first became a Mighty Maniac three years ago, students dominated the South side of Alumni Arena. Before the $1.6 million renovations, the members of the Sea of Blue flooded the then-wooden bleachers and invaded the personal bubbles of other undergraduates.
Alumni held almost 9,000 fans, compared to today's maximum capacity of just over 6,300. The reduction of seating has severely impacted the location of those who cheer the loudest for the men's basketball team, which has a 31-8 home record over the past three years.
Big-time schools show big-time respect to their student sections, placing them right near the action. Manuel was intermittently a part of the University of Michigan for almost 20 years before coming to UB. If you were a student at our AD's alma mater, you could pretty much reach out and touch a Wolverine from your seat, no Gadget arms necessary. The "Maize Rage" is closer to the basketball action than 7-foot Bulls forward Andrew Atman is to the net. I've never been in the Crisler Center, but from pictures online, the students have the run of at least 10 rows, starting from the floor.
Some point out that Buffalo students, as part of a MAC school, shouldn't expect the same as a Big Ten school like Michigan. But that isn't the reason students are getting shafted.
The only MAC regulation that Buffalo must comply with when it comes to tickets is in regards to seating for the visiting team's fans. Buffalo must allot the visiting team 60 tickets, but only half of them are required to be in the rows behind the visiting team's bench. Thirty seats are no more than four rows. There is no reason, other than the mighty dollar sign, that the Mighty Maniacs can't claim the rest of the South-side chair backs.
The Ohio Bobcats have two things on UB and it isn't a pair of slumping sophomores. Ohio's student section has sweet seats and a killer scoreboard chant to go along with them, though the chant is another story. (Okay, they have a championship too, but I'm trying to forget that.) The "O-Zone" has prime seating at the basketball games, placing some students just inches from the hardwood action.
Free student entry is a fallacy. Students are forced to pay for attendance to the games, whether they go or not. A student gets in by allowing his or her UB card to get swiped. With the electronic system the athletic department uses, the ticket office virtually verifies that you paid your undergraduate fees.
That comprehensive fee that appears on your student bill includes almost $200 in athletic fees each semester. That's $400 a year, the price of a pair of season tickets in the chair-back seats that separate some of the student fans. Granted, not all the money goes towards providing you access to athletic events, but it's a large chunk of change.
See, the best thing about the Mighty Maniacs, the thing that makes me most proud to throw on my tie-dyed shirt for game days, is that they have no problem ruining their voices, spending hours at Alumni and painting themselves blue for the team, game-in and game-out. Don't these fans deserve more?
Sure, it probably sounds greedy, but I bet five years ago, Reggie Witherspoon could have never imagined that fans would be petitioning for better seats at basketball games. Five years ago, 'Spoon was more likely wondering if students on campus even cared about his team. Regardless if they did then, they do now, and the Mighty Maniacs' undying devotion should be applauded and rewarded.
Manuel has the power to bring the students closer together and closer to the action, truly making this the best time to be a part of UB athletics.
If you want to sign the petition yourself, log on to http://new.petitiononline.com/UBFANS/petition.html.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
