Two weeks ago, I wrote what I considered a very poignant and revealing letter to the editors of the Old Gold and Black, emphasizing the disgust I felt toward a student cheering section which demonstrated anything but cheering during the men's basketball team's loss to Maryland.
There was absolutely no "screamin'" to be seen during that game. It hurt me because it hurt the team. It frustrated me because other students who might have tried to rally their team could not get tickets in the lottery system which denied them seats.
Most importantly, it angered me, as I saw a group of students who just looked too lazy to lift a hand or raise a voice in support of a team which was struggling and needed what Dick Vitale calls the "sixth man."
Since then, I have seen the same thing happen against Duke and North Carolina State, and I'm not the only one who has noticed. I mention Dick Vitale's "sixth man" because he made a comment about the lack of this important team member during the loss to Duke at home Feb. 5. Go ahead and check a tape of the ESPN broadcast.
When the Deacons were down and hurting, a camera panned the Screamin' Demon section and gave Dick Vitale a reason to scream himself -- nobody was doing a thing. "They're not screamin'!" agonized the commentator of NCAA basketball himself.
I'm certain he would have asked for the whereabouts of the "sixth man" during Sunday's game against the Wolfpack as well. I sure as heck didn't see one.
Instead, when a bad call ended overtime with a one point victory for North Carolina State, the Raycom/Jefferson Pilot Sports cameras panned across a confused and unsupportive Screamin' Demon section.
I'm sure the producers loved it --sad shots are great for ratings. Only a forgiving shot of the cheerleaders, arm in arm singing the Alma Mater, balanced out an otherwise terrible showing of team support and school spirit, even in defeat.
I have spoken to one Screamin' Demon who did not agree with my previous letter.
According to this student, the Screamin' Demons should be cut some slack, apparently because they have committed so much time with both men's and women's basketball games. According to this student, such a commitment is enough for having such good seats and so little enthusiasm at times.
According to a faculty member associated with the pep band, the lack of enthusiasm gets worse when it comes to women's basketball games. Evidently, the emphasis appears to be on getting into the men's basketball games, and the women's team suffers the presence of a disinterested and cold group of students who come nowhere close to behaving as fans. Evidently, having to go to the women's basketball games is a downside of getting those wonderful seats to men's basketball games.
Where does this leave us? Unfortunately, I fear Dick Vitale may have another opportunity to complain about the lack of a "sixth man" in the Screamin' Demon section during the next men's basketball game.
Furthermore, I fear that the women's basketball team is being terribly wronged each and every time that the Screamin' Demons show up to a game "because they have to."
Before you "Screamin' Demons," show yourselves to the viewing public again, think about this: The "older" folks in the Wake Wackos section show better spirit than you do.
The lottery system "victims," sitting in Row ZZ, Section 220 or in their dorm rooms, show better spirit than you do. Even the cheerleader wannabes -- those little children dancing and cheering behind the goal near the student section -- show better spirit than you do.
Spare me your gripes of commitment. Spare Demon Deacon fans at home the agony of having Dick Vitale commend a Duke or Carolina crowd's team spirit over your own. Spare the lottery system victims your prized seats.
Most importantly, spare the members of both the men's and women'sbasketball teams the pain of seeing their fellow students stand by in a stupor of boredom, errant conversation, and disinterest during a difficult or lost game. It's not only unfair to them as students. It's unfair to them as a team.
Why? They have to suffer the embarassment of a bad team member. They have to suffer the Screamin' Demon "sixth man" -- a disgraceful, lazy, pitiful slob.
Michael R. Burns