Dear Fellow Students,
On Saturday afternoon, the glitz and glamour of ESPN's camera crews and play-by-play personalities highlighted what has become one of the country's toughest places to play: our own Alumni Arena.
It's impossible to describe the feeling when you, the thousands of blue-clad friends, fans and supporters, rise as one while we take the court. Fatigue is erased before important defensive stands when Alumni reaches its fever pitch. The opposition's morale crumbles after the slightest mistake as your relentless cheers endlessly seep deeper under their skin.
On Saturday afternoon, in front of the entire nation on ESPN2, your energy inspired the best defensive performance in UB's MAC history as we held Toledo to 43 points. Your barrage of chants and the chaos of signs rising and falling behind the basket forced the dazed Toledo shooters into an abysmal 3-12 showing from the free throw line.
During a game when shots weren't falling for us, our energy, hustle and defense became key. A crowd can't cheer a shot into the basket (we bet you wish you could have on Saturday!) but a crowd CAN hoot and holler and rant and rave enough to send a rush through our bodies that cancels any doubt. Your energy can begin a snowball of focus that rolls through us and ultimately over our opponent.
We go to work every single day in order to come out and perform victoriously on game day for ourselves, for Buffalo, for UB and for you. Every one of us takes individual and personal pride in our determination to improve each and every day. There is no limit to what our team can accomplish this season, and with you, our manic Sea of Blue behind us, the road to a MAC Championship becomes shorter every game.
With this team and your support, great things are on the horizon. So come along for the ride this week, this month and all the way to Cleveland for the MAC Tournament...
...and beyond!
Thank You & Best Wishes,
UB Men's Basketball Team
Go Bulls!
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
