It's OK to be a basketball school

Matt Gunn
gunnma@mscd.edu

Within these sports pages, I've allowed a number of columns and articles about Metro's lack of a football team. It's old news. Like every sports editor before me, I've listened to the countless arguments for football. I'm still not convinced Metro needs it.

Now that college football season is over and the Broncos are finished, football stories are a thing of The Metropolitan's past. It's time to talk about something this school excels at: basketball.

Metro is a basketball school. And that's nothing to be ashamed of.

I firmly believe that the best college basketball in Denver-and maybe all of Colorado-takes place in the Auraria Event Center. Watching last weekend's games further cemented this conviction.

The Roadrunner women are playing smart, defensive basketball, and it's led to great success against the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. In games against Colorado School of Mines and Colorado Christian University, the 'Runners looked confident and unstoppable. They outscored their opponents by a combined 78 points.

The Roadrunners showered their last couple opponents with three-pointers, and the accuracy is coming from the whole team.

As of Sunday, Metro was tied with Regis University for the RMAC lead with a conference record of 9-0. They're fun to watch, and I've noticed more fans showing up early to see the games. Even the booster club, which has traditionally followed the men more reliably, has begun to show more support for the Metro women.

Speaking of the Metro men, they lost in overtime to the Orediggers at home last Friday, and ended a 47-game home win streak. Regardless, I'll always take an exciting Metro game-even if it's a loss-over a University of Denver Sunbelt Conference sleeper.

Metro rebounded the next night and beat Colorado Christian. The 'Runners are third in the RMAC, and have a tough stretch against division opponents ahead.

Both the loss to Mines and the next evening's win were exciting games, and throughout each, the fans responded. You can't say Metro has no school spirit after sitting among the audience of a men's basketball game. There was even a courtside couch Friday night, though I'm not sure what that was all about.

Even the opponents' fans travel well, and add to the ever-improving atmosphere.

Watching the support for both teams is exciting. From my perch in the rafters, I even noticed Metro President Stephen Jordan among the fans. He's inconspicuous, but is constantly cheering for the home team, and always dressed in crimson and blue.

I'd go so far as to say he's setting an example for the rest of us. Each night there's a roped-off student section. Although it doesn't always fill up, those who make it to the game look like they're having fun.

And we're doing our best to bring Metro basketball to you through print, video and now radio. If you can't make it to the game, tune in to http://metradio.mscd.edu. John Romero of The Met Report handles play-by-play, and I try not to say anything too stupid as the color commentator. It's one more example of how the office of student media is working for you.

Finally, I've done a little research into which NCAA Division-I schools don't have football teams. The results include #6 Gonzaga University (15-3, 5-0 West Coast Conference), #16 George Washington University (14-1, 4-0 Atlantic 10 Conference) and Xavier University (12-3, 3-1 Atlantic 10 Conference).

I also get the feeling that, in general, sports fans at schools like Duke University, the University of Kentucky and the University of Connecticut could care less about the football teams they have.

Metro is a basketball school, and there's nothing wrong with that.