CSU vs. Gonzaga basketball pre-game coverage

CTV Sports anchors Steven Starcer and Keith Albertson preview the CSU Rams men’s basketball matchup against No. 15 Gonzaga.

Video by Keith Albertson and Steven Starcer.

Pre-game look

Britta Peole compared it to the Hunger Games.

The Gonzaga freshmen anxiously awaited the tweet that would reveal where she needed to sprint to get the “highest number possible” for this momentous occasion in the life of a Bulldogs basketball fan.

At 12:15 p.m.on Sunday the Gonzaga athletic program tweeted the secret locations for the ticket pick up of “Tent City”, a Gonzaga basketball tradition that consists of camping to get one of the first spots in line for entry into McCarthy Athletic Center widely referred to as “The Kennel.”

Accordingly, the Gonzaga student body ran like their lives depended on it to the nearest ticket location.

“Someone tweeted that watching people run for numbers for tent city is like watching the tributes for the Hunger Games run to Cornucopia,” Peole said. “Theres people all around campus that just stand and watch. It’s like a mad dash of 500 people.”

Britta was one of the few that happened to be in the right spot at the right time, landing tent number four in Tent City. Considering this is Peole’s first time participating in this tradition, landing number four out of 90 tents is something to be proud of.

“This is my first Tent City and the fact that we got number four was totally crazy,” Peole said.

Looking through the sea of tents was comparable to looking out at a tailgate for an SEC football game. People bring their sleeping bags and cook out gear and spend the night in the 35 degree weather, all for the sake of their revered and beloved basketball program.

These ticket numbers are so highly regarded that people go to the lengths of sending dummies and setting up booby traps to throw people off the scent or the true ticket locations.

“Some people will send dummies and have people running to the fourth floor of college hall, which has really steep steps, so people will follow them in there when the actual location is on the other side of campus,” freshman Emily Carcher said.

Some of these decoys worked quite effectively, leaving Carcher and her friends stuck with tent No. 80.

Even though some people might perceive this type of fan dedication to be a bit overzealous, these students participate in this madness because of the experience that comes along with it.

“We’re excited for the crowd,” Carcher said. “We’re just excited for the insane jumping up and down and just for the energy in the Kennel.”

Basketball Beat Reporter Hannah Cornish can be reached at sports@collegian.com and on Twitter @hmcornish.