From March 9-12, the Dalhousie Tigers men's basketball team took on Canada's best as the university hosted the Final 8 national championships in Halifax. The Tigers pulled off a thrilling, final-second 67-65 win over Alberta in the quarter-finals before a packed house of Dal fans. Although the team would come up short in the semi-finals against Ryserson, they prevailed in Sunday's bronze medal game 鈥� the team's best-ever national finish.
Writer Matt Semansky was at Thursday night's quarter-final and spoke to Tigers fans about their experience.
--
What鈥檚 the next best thing to hitting the winning shot with one second left in the game? Cheering on the one who does.
No matter the sport, a Tigers game is an experience that unites students, alumni, staff and faculty in attendance in a common purpose: to energetically encourage the team to reach its highest level of performance聽 鈥� and to have fun doing it.
Win or lose, Tigers fans never fail to succeed at the fun part.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just a really hype experience,鈥� says Alison Chan, a third-year Commerce student who counts many players on the men鈥檚 basketball team as friends and often comes out to support their games.
Of course, the more a team excels, the more exciting the atmosphere becomes at their games. The men鈥檚 basketball team has won three consecutive Atlantic University Sport (AUS) championships and has advanced to at least the semifinals at U Sports Men鈥檚 Basketball Final 8 tournament in Halifax this week.
Photo essay: A fantastic Final 8
鈥淢y friends and I are super fired-up about it and we鈥檙e just out here to have a good time,鈥� says David Cormack, a third-year Accounting student, prior to a thrilling upset win by the Tigers in the national quarterfinals on Thursday.
Supporting a varsity team in a tight game certainly gets the adrenaline pumping. But students and alumni also point to the sense of community that comes with being a Tigers fan.
Phoebe Lenderyou is a third-year management student and a member of Dalhousie鈥檚 AUS-winning women鈥檚 swim team. As both an athlete and a fan, she鈥檚 built personal connections and learned more about a variety of sports.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know much about basketball itself, but after watching (the Tigers) I feel like I鈥檓 getting into it,鈥� Phoebe says. 鈥淎nd I鈥檝e found the atmosphere at the games makes you love the sport along with it.鈥�
Photo essay: A fantastic Final 8
Phoebe鈥檚 former teammate Kara McCallum, who graduated from the Kinesiology program in 2016, agrees. 鈥淭he environment is really fun. Everybody wants to have fun and support the team.
鈥淚t鈥檚 contagious.鈥�
Dalhousie president Richard Florizone has definitely caught the fan bug. Cheering on the Tigers, he says, is a powerful part of his own life at Dal.
鈥淭hese are amazing students who do so well in academics and then demonstrate leadership, grit and determination on the court and the rink and the playing fields,鈥� says Dr. Florizone. 鈥淚t鈥檚 great to be out here to celebrate what they do, and to recognize all the coaches and parents and alumni who support them.
鈥淚 get inspired by it.鈥�
