A post four years in the making...

[MUfan12]

After reading the "Thank You" thread, I thought I would post some of what has been going through my mind after leaving my seat in 106 for the last time Saturday night...

Thanks to my Dad for trying to keep a family tradition alive by taking me to my first game in 1988. He wanted to see if I liked it, and the rest is history. Marquette Basketball has been a huge part of my relationship with him and especially my younger brother, who was right next to me for three years in 106. It has been great to share some very special moments with them.

Thanks to the Marquette administration, who had the foresight to make a change when it wasn't popular, and brought in Tom Crean. Many thanks go out to Coach, who has never once taken the students for granted, and has brought many great people into this program. Without his presence, Saturday would not have happened. He has brought the team I love back to national prominence, and I could not be more proud of the way this program represents my school, and soon to be alma mater.

Thanks to the ESPN crew, who were wonderful to work with Saturday.. The atmosphere that was created by having Gameday here was something I have never seen, and will never forget. Watching both the show, and the game again I am so proud of the way our students represented themselves on a national stage. Thanks Dickie V, for giving back my wig and aviators, and taking a picture with me before the game. Awesome baby!

Thanks to DPS for helping us keep some semblance of order in line Friday night and early Saturday. Without their assistance things would have been really, really ugly. Also many thanks to the BC security staff, especially the guys by 225 and 106. They have taken good care of our students and put up with a lot of crap, but they have been extremely fair and should be applauded for the way they handle things.

Thanks to the many players who have come through the program the past four years, and the memories they created. Mason beating Louisville, Diener dismantling Bucky, Novak lighting up UConn and beating ND, beating Georgetown and Pitt in three days, and of course, dominating Pitt last night in my last home game. I will never forget those moments.

Thanks to the regulars in 106 who I have shared many long waits with in line. You all are incredibly dedicated, and it has been fun figuring out the ways to pass the time. Wiffle ball on the plaza, impromptu football games, you name it. It has been great. Specifically, thanks to the '06 alums, the boxers and company, my roommates, DV, Serge, Mara, Hansen, Rob, Greg, Hess, Bill, and Justin. Billy- its yours now, take good care of it.

As I think about being at every game the past four seasons and how much time I spent at the Bradley Center, I know I wouldn't trade anything for it. It has been a wonderful, crazy ride with some great wins and some heartbreaking losses. But it has been a blast every step of the way. Goodbye wig, hello sweater vest!

GO WARRIORS!
WE ARE MARQUETTE!

[ChicosBailBonds]

Congratulations!!

[Wade for President]

That's hilarious that it was your wig/glasses that Dickie V had on.  Classic moment.

[TallTitan34]

I feel like we should always leave an empty seat in the back right corner of 106 for you.

[muwarrior87]

I'll do my best Maj.  It's gonna be hard filling your shoes but hopefully I'll be able to and make the next two years w/ me there as good as the last few with you in that seat....sorry in advance to anyone sitting in the front row of 222 that wont be able to see cuz of my all natural fro. 

[mviale]

call me old and nostalgic, but that post brought a tear to my eye.  Post college life is great, but my 4 years in 1986-1990 were some of the best years of my life.

Congratulations and dont sweat the small stuff.

[MUfan12]

I feel like we should always leave an empty seat in the back right corner of 106 for you.

HAHA thanks man, but I'm not dead! Bill and his natural honkie fro will do just fine in that seat.

[drewm88]

Great post, but I think a wig and aviators go great with a sweater vest.

[rocky_warrior]

I do want to drop a quick thanks to the student section in general - you're doing much better than when I was at MU, and it's great to see.  The energy in the building on Sat was awesome.  There were even several fans in my section in the upper deck (across the building from the students) that picked up on the energy to yell throughout the game.  Of course, my coworkers are making fun of me today as a result - but well worth it.

Also though, thanks to all the students that share their viewpoints and contribute to this board.  I'm not sure if all the alum's that read are aware of this, but several of the most dedicated fanatics (in this list: http://gomarquette.cstv.com/athletic-dept/fanatic-rewards-tracking.html) are also regular contributors to this board.  Major props guys!

[maxpower773]

I didn't wanna miss out on all of this thanking people, so naturally thanks alot Dan. While I can only speak for my past two years, I want to thank you for what you do for the student section, getting people fired up and just your overall support for the team itself. Bill and I will try to fill your spot the best we can these upcomming years, and guarenteed so will the rest of 106 that has been there already.  It's just too bad Bill's fro isn't yellow....a little dye could fix that though.

[Buzz Williams' Spillproof Chiclets Cup]

call me old and nostalgic, but that post brought a tear to my eye.  Post college life is great, but my 4 years in 1986-1990 were some of the best years of my life.

Congratulations and dont sweat the small stuff.

Congratulations, Dan. You've kept the torch alive.

Old? Don't say that. I'm one of the aforementioned '06 alums and that almost brought a tear to MY eye. The last few years with those guys, neglecting our classes, encountering all kinds of ridiculousness, goofy stunts, freezing our stones off waiting for the doors to open, sign-making, and road trips to ND, DePaul, and Valpo have really left us with a great group of friends, and looking forward to when we can have a whole row of sweatervests.

[🏀]

Thanks buddy, it's been a great four years with ya.

[The Man in Gold]

/bump

Dan, You and the rest of the 106 crew had another great run!  Best of luck to the returning students, you have some large holes to fill.  Here's hoping for a great class of '11.

[ihatemufan12]

Dearest MUfan12,

[deleted]

Rocky's edit:  Yeah, I'm pretty sure signing up for this site *just* to say you hate someone anonymously is cowardly and the definition of a flamer (of the computer sort).  buh-bye

[Gwaki]

It was nice having you there Dan.  The 106 spirit will continue through the years.

[muwarrior87]

hopefully me, gwaki, and max can continue to lead the student section like you did.  I love it when there are stupid ppl that just wanna hate on you...I have like 10 that just yell at me at the games and flip me off, very nice to have.

[HoopDreams]

Do you guys honestly think you lead the student section?? I guess I do not understand this claim...please explain.

[maxpower773]

No, not just us exactly, its more of a 106 thing.  But there are a few individuals within 106 that do a great job of leading in cheers and whatnot, and some of those like mufan12 are graduating this year.

[MUfan12]

A lot of the cheers and stuff you hear start from people in 106. When the cheer sheets were tried awhile back, it was people in 106 making them. When people were yelling "Nice Shot A-hole" after free throws, it was people in 106 who turned around and yelled at the people doing it.

I'm not saying we are leaders by any stretch, but I can say with confidence that some of the most intense people are down there. It's something that the regulars take pride in. Obviously some people have a problem with that, but oh well.

[drewm88]

As was stated, a lot of the cheers start in 106. More than that, MUfan12 and the rest of the guys in the back corner of 106 are often the first to start jumping around on defense, and they turn to the rest of the student section and encourage them to do the same. They shout chants to the student section, so that they can catch on and join. For game like Pitt, the crowd's pretty much goes on their own. But for other, quieter games, there's a lot of students that don't do much without little pushes like that.

[muwarrior87]

like others have said, we start the cheers pretty often, we are the first ones jumping, we basically guide the students with cheers and try to get them into the game...moreso than the cheerleaders are able to. We tell students to also stop the unnecessary negative chants...but then again we also start some of the "Higgins" chants. 

[SoCalstu09]

I don't mean to offend anyone, but students in 106, you are mistaken. You do not lead the student section in chants. Let the cheerleaders do their job, they do it well. You guys are no bigger fans than the general MU student population - 500 students showing up before 3 am Saturday morning attests to that. I love the spirit, but don't go self-proclaiming on basketball message boards.

And this isn't meant to be a blow towards students in 106, in fact I think it says more about our entire student section, but if the "regulars" were to not show up for a game, section 106 would still fill up and the BC would be just as loud. We have a great student section because of ALL of the students, not just the few in 106.

[MUfan12]

I'm gonna go ahead and stop this right now before it becomes a big pissing match... the intent of my post was to show my gratitude for the experience I had in 106, not to show any sort of superiority or anything. I apologize if that's how it was taken. Fact is I have made a lot of good friends going to games and sitting with them, this was meant to recognize them. For the underclassmen on here, keep things loud and creative, regardless of where you sit.