My young son is playing local youth basketball and I thought it would be fun to take him to see a collegiate level game. It's hard to put into words how depressing and strange the atmosphere was at that game. The 8500 seat arena built in 1969 was old, dingy, dimly lit, and probably 10% full for the game. The crowd was a mix of old die-hard alum/fans and local ghetto. You could literally hear a pin drop during 95% of the game. The concessions at the game consisted of a dry-bun hotdog, cold burnt popcorn, stale looking pretzels, and flat soda. The student section was literally a piece-meal portion of the band (15 or so of them) and a handful of other student-aged individuals in a small section behind one basket. How did I know that was the student section? They were the only ones yelling "airball" and other typical heckling that usually comes from the student section. There was probably 40 of them max, including the 15 members of the band.

My reason for posting this is that I'd be shocked to see the Big-12 take U of H. My experience this past weekend was obviously an isolated event, however, I think it was a microcosm of the school's overall fan support here in local Houston. It is a textbook commuter school where alumni do not appear to be "proud" to state U of H as their alma matter. It feels very similar to SUU or Dixie State in Utah - no one every gained any bragging rights by stating that they went to those schools. Most go to U of H either because they want to live at home, are a foreigner here on a student visa, or couldn't get into one of the other more prominent state schools. Even during their nice football run this past season, you still see way more support and gear-repping around town from the other TX schools, primarily A&M and UT.

That Saturday basketball game made me appreciative of the Marriott center and my experience attending athletic events as a student at BYU. I obviously wear blue goggles, but the contrast between the two schools is night and day. If the Big 12 does indeed choose U of H, you'll know that their decision has nothing to do with facilities, school tradition, $$$, or overall local fan support.