All good things come to an end – it’s an inevitable part of life.
As the clock crept slowly toward midnight on Friday night, the doors of Moby Arena were sealed and locked to the public until next fall.
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8:47 p.m. – All 215 light bulbs of the Ram head sign hanging on the east end of the arena are flashing on and off. The lights, which are organized into 16 total rows, serve as a noise meter to judge just how loud it actually gets inside. The women’s basketball team is moments away from writing its record 23-6 regular season in the books and all 3,119 in attendance are on their feet to congratulate the Rams.
9:06 p.m. – Green and gold confetti bursts out of the scoreboard overhanging the basketball court. Similar to CSU’s first conference title in over a decade, all lights still register without even having to check.
9:33 p.m. – The noise meter has dropped from 16 levels to eight as the players and head coach Ryun Williams return to the court after the postgame media press conference. Thousands of people have now turned into hundreds, loyal fans have waited patiently for their chance to meet their favorite players.
9:52 p.m. – The squeak from the sneakers of a young kid running up and down the Moby court imagining he’s a star basketball player like those he idolizes have the noise level jumping back and forth from four to five rows. The awful sound of the creaky cart rolling out the courtside seats also bumps the level up to an occasional six.
10:07 p.m. – The meter clocks in at four rows as Sam Martin, Alicia Nichols and Hayley Thompson are all still present, it’s clear the three seniors aren’t ready to accept the fact that they’ll never play another game at Moby again. Every person important in their lives are still standing strong, giving hugs and shedding tears over the end of something great.
10:24 p.m. – Jon Octeus and other players of the men’s basketball team, who were on hand to support the women, begin scooping up confetti and showering it upon AJ Newton and others. The exchanging laughs flicker the noise meter between the few remaining rows of lights.
10:41 p.m. – Six media relations interns have been handed push brooms and assigned the task of mopping up the billion pieces of confetti from the hardwood. The noise meter is lucky to hit two or three rows of lights.
11:00 p.m. – The number of people remaining in Moby has dwindled to a select few, the last players have emerged from the locker room in street clothes with car keys in hand. Autographs are signed, possibly some of their last ones ever, and the arena is all but empty. The noise meter hasn’t registered over one level in over 15 minutes.
11: 06 p.m. – The Ram head light is finally shut off, bleachers have been rolled back and the last soul remaining in the arena is a poor sports writer with nothing better to do.
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Moby Arena is something special, just ask any athlete or coach who is a regular. Since August, “the whale” has boosted the Rams (volleyball, men’s/women’s basketball) to a 42-8 overall record — how’s that for home-field advantage.
On behalf of myself and the 154,836 total people who have filtered into the arena this season, thanks Moby.
Collegian Sports Editor Quentin Sickafoose can be reached at sports@collegian.com and on Twitter @QSickafoose.
