While watching Calvin basketball at the Van Andel Arena this past weekend a few thoughts came to mind.

First, the women's basketball game. Both the consolation and the championship games of the women's Grand Rapids Press Tournament were held at the Van Andel Arena. This marked the first time that the Van Andel has hosted a local women's basketball tournament. I was at both of the games on Saturday afternoon and was quite astonished at the spectator turnout. The Arena holds approximately 12,000 people but on Saturday afternoon for Calvin's match-up with Aquinas, there were not more than 100 fans in the building. Actually, for the record, the official attendance according to the box score was unknown. It is really great that the Calvin women were afforded the same luxuries of playing in the Van Andel Arena as the men were, but when are the fans going to show up? It is not like we have a poor women's basketball team; they made it to the Sweet 16 twice in the last three years. The lady Knights made it to the NCAA tournament six times in the 90s, stringing together a run of consecutive appearances from 1996-2000. Attendance has nothing to do with success. Both teams have had success in the past five years, but the men have collected the bigger following. Sure the women are young and a little inexperienced, but they are fun to watch regardless. How is it that we can get the whole student section full at a men's hoops home game, and only muster less than an eighth of that for a women's game?

I have no idea why there is such a variance in the attendance but here are a few ideas. One idea is that you, much like me, have grown up in a Christian high school, and like it or not, men's basketball is followed while women's hoops is overshadowed by football. Another idea has to do with pro basketball's influence. Only recently has the WNBA been created and women's basketball been given a professional forum. On account of this maybe we are accustomed to only seeing men playing at a higher physical level. The times are changing--and so should we. Am I saying that you should love women's basketball more than men's? Not yet, the decision is still yours, but I do think that the fans should give it more of a chance. The women already have the competitive edge, exciting players and great coaching. So what is missing? Nothing-- except for the fans.

The second thing that came to mind while at Van Andel had to do with Bryan Foltice. I may be accused of beating a dead horse but I think this needs to be said. I have always maintained that Calvin has one of the biggest, and also some of the classiest fans in Division III basketball, but on Saturday night at the Van Andel Arena I was not proud to bear the name Calvin. Win or lose, Calvin has always been gracious, the players as well as the fans. So naturally on Saturday night when I heard Calvin fans yelling such things as ``Show me the money Foltice'' and ``Traitor'' I was set off. These acts were more than classless--they were immature. To see grown men tower over the Golden Eagles exit tunnel into the locker room and yell things to a 20-year-old kid is ridiculous. When something as petty as Division III basketball has that strong of a grip on your life it is time for a reality check. I guess the part that really got me going was the fact that this was done by adults, not students. There were probably students joining in the ridicule but I may have turned a deaf ear. Granted, Foltice left under a dark cloud of suspicion, but that does not give we the fans any right to deface him in a public forum. Especially since most of the information we have about the incident comes from a Grand Rapids Press article and hearsay that has circulated around the campus. In an earlier interview with Calvin coach Kevin Vande Streek, I, like many of you, was very interested to find out all the details of the athletic release of Bryan. I wanted all the details, and was not given them because of an ethical move by Vande Streek. Coach has done a good job at keeping these events under wraps, even to his own players. Could he have given me all the juicy details, and had it go all over the pages of the Chimes? Sure, but he didn't. I realize that I am not going to change the mind of all Calvin fans about Byran, but as a cheering section for a Christian college we need to be above that cheap stuff. If coach Vande Streek chooses not to deface the name of Bryan or anyone involved--neither should we.