Rush the Court? Sometimes, Not Always

As a response to the blog post by our newest writer Scott (welcome Scott), I am here to give my own opinion as to when rushing the court is acceptable at the esteemed institution that is UCLA. Let me begin by saying that yesterday, from my view in the band, I wish I could run courtside and high-five Mustafa for his amazing game winner against those Huskies. But I couldn't. I think that we all got swept up in the dramatic way that the game ended and did not think too much. I was there next to two of my two best friends in the band who are also seniors and have seen the glory days of the last few years. All three of us were high-fiving and jumping up and down (and screaming) with joy. We lived the moment, not the past. That is until I mentioned to them, "hey, this is as good as the finish against Cal (and Stanford) from sophomore year!"

We discussed how this is completely different and more epic because two years ago, we were expected to win, if not dominate every game. So sure, why not let those great feelings of years past come back to us upperclassmen or let the freshmen celebrate a great (well it's Washington...) win at home? Here's why. No matter how bad the team might be this year, those four letters on the chest of the players symbolize what has come before them (or in the case of the seniors, their time) and the rich tradition it stands for. Yes, we should not be pompous and elitist but UCLA is still the class of college basketball (maybe not by how fans show up to games) and it will be until anyone can even come close to the magical number, 11.

Like UCLA, there are other schools rich in tradition. When those schools come to Pauley Pavilion and are ranked higher than UCLA, there should be a reason to rush the court. But let me restate it, ONLY if they are RANKED HIGHER! Otherwise there is no legitimate excuse for the student section to ever rush the court. Now you might ask who might those schools be? Here is a list I, along with my roommates a few weeks ago, came up with (in no particular order):

1. Kentucky

2. UNC

3. Duke

4. Kansas

5. Indiana

To us those seemed like the only schools who have enough name-brand and rich tradition that in the somewhat rare case (like this year with Kansas) of them coming to Westwood with a higher ranking that we should rush the court. There are a few other schools that maybe deserve some consideration such as Georgetown, Syracuse, UConn, Michigan, and Michigan State. In fact, I would maybe only consider UConn and MSU but just wanted to suggest a couple other schools who I respect for what they have done.