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In college, high school and NBA basketball, the sixth man is the fans attempting to influence the game by cheering and chanting for their team of choice. The fan section is referred to as the "sixth man", because they are considered the sixth "player" of their basketball team. High school and college student sections are numerous across the United States, and many share the same characteristics.
Sixth man clubs originated in college basketball, where deep crowds of students assemble to chant for their team. Quality sixth man squads attend home and away games to support their team. These student sections are strong parts of the game experience, and run the gamut from the Duke's infamous Cameron Crazies to the University of Illinois' altruistic Orange Krush. [1] Many create identical shirts to appear unified and even more numerous. Sixth man clubs name themselves based on their school mascot or color. These student sections are known for their creativity in chants, intimidation tactics to distract the opposing team, and their creativity in raiding away games.
Sixth man squads assemble themselves together across the United States. Like their collegiate counterparts, high school squads wear matching shirts and name themselves based on their mascot. High school sixth man clubs are able to have the largest impact on the games because the size of the gymnasium is much smaller than its college counterpart. Sixth man squads organize themselves sometimes inches away from the court and work to intimidate their opponents personally. Player-fan interactions occur a lot because of this. This can sometimes backfire, as was the case with former Wisconsin high school player and future NBA player Tyler Herro. Herro, born and raised in Wisconsin, originally committed to play for the University of Wisconsin but later changed his mind and committed to the University of Kentucky. Knowing this, a home crowd's sixth man chanted "Traitor" at him during a road game and Herro responded with a 45 point game and led his team to a road victory.
The "sixth man" has taken the role of cheering to a higher and more intense level. The main goal is to be so loud that their team gets pumped up, and the opposing team gets intimidated. Most squads choose to stand up during the whole game. Many squads put their hands in the air whenever their team is shooting a free throw for good luck.
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball through the defender's hoop, while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own hoop. A field goal is worth two points, unless made from behind the three-point line, when it is worth three. After a foul, timed play stops and the player fouled or designated to shoot a technical foul is given one, two or three one-point free throws. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but if regulation play expires with the score tied, an additional period of play (overtime) is mandated.
The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level, primarily competing in the Big Ten Conference for all sports since the 1896–97 season. The women's ice hockey team competes in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA), while the men's crew team compete in the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (EARC).
Cheering involves the uttering or making of sounds and may be used to encourage, excite to action, indicate approval or welcome.
The Cameron Crazies are the student section supporting the Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team and the Duke Blue Devils women's basketball team. The section can hold approximately 1,200 occupants. The section, also deemed "The Zoo" by Al McGuire for their humorous pranks, and "The Sixth-Man" by Duke men's basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski, is known for being "rude, crude and lewd – as well as cleverly funny," stated Frank Vehorn of the Virginian-Pilot. The Crazies are famous for painting their bodies blue and white or wearing outrageous outfits. They start their cheering as soon as warm-ups begin. Throughout the game, the Crazies jump up and down when the opposing team has possession of the ball and yell cheers in unison at focal points of the game.
The Kohl Center is an arena and athletic center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, United States. The building, which opened in 1998, is the home of the university's men's basketball and ice hockey teams, and the women's basketball team. It also housed the university's women's ice hockey team through 2012, after which they moved into the adjacent LaBahn Arena. Seating capacity is variable, as the center can be rearranged to accommodate a basketball court, a hockey rink, or a concert. The maximum capacity is 17,287 in its basketball configuration, and 15,359 for ice hockey. The center has three levels, with the floor holding about 7,500 people, and the two upper balconies about 4,500 each. It is the second largest indoor venue in Wisconsin and the largest outside Milwaukee. The arena is located on the southeast corner of the UW–Madison campus, at the intersection of West Dayton and North Frances Streets.
The State Farm Center is a large dome-shaped 15,544-seat indoor arena located in Champaign, Illinois, owned and operated by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The arena hosts games for the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball, women's basketball, and wrestling teams. It also doubles as a performance and event center, and is one of the largest venues between Chicago and St. Louis. It opened in 1963 and was known until 2013 as Assembly Hall until State Farm Insurance acquired naming rights as part of a major renovation project.
Colonel Reb was the official mascot of Ole Miss Rebels, the collegiate athletic teams of the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. Designed in 1936, the Colonel served as the teams' official sideline mascot from 1979 until 2003. The university replaced him in 2010 with a new on-field mascot, the Black Bear, who was replaced with Tony the Landshark in 2018.
An ōendan (応援団), literally "cheering squad" or "cheering section", is a Japanese sports rallying team similar in purpose to a cheerleading squad in the United States, but relies more on making a lot of noise with taiko drums, blowing horns and other items, waving flags and banners, and yelling through plastic megaphones in support of their sports team than on acrobatic moves. In addition to cheering for their own teams, ōendan have been known to lead fans in cheers which tease and taunt the other team and its fans. This is usually done in the spirit of good competition, but occasional fights have broken out if the taunting gets too heated. Smaller ōendan are sometimes called ōenbu.
The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I. The Mountaineers have been a member of the Big 12 Conference since 2012. At that time, the Mountaineers joined the Mid-American Conference as an affiliate member for men's soccer. The men's soccer team now competes in the Sun Belt Conference.
Orange Krush is a branch of the registered student organization (RSO), Illini Pride, at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. In its current form, the Organization has two faces. First, the Orange Krush is the student cheering section for the University of Illinois men's basketball team. Second, the Orange Krush exists as a charitable organization known as the Orange Krush Foundation.
Devin Lamar Harris is an American former professional basketball player. Harris attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Harris was selected with the fifth pick in the 2004 NBA draft by the Washington Wizards.
Willie Wildcat is the official mascot for the Kansas State Wildcats. He is typically depicted as having a human body with a giant wildcat head. Because of not being depicted in a full body suit, he normally appears on internet “worst college mascot” lists
The Show is the name of the San Diego State Aztecs student section. They are most prominently known for their vocal and creative support of Aztec athletics, especially the men's basketball team. The Show's uniqueness and creativity set them apart from other student sections. They came up with the idea to wave giant cut-out faces during free throws. They have come up with numerous chants and traditions. The Show has three designated sections in Viejas Arena, sections M, L, and K, which are located behind the basket near the visiting team's bench. Their website has sections for their history, media, gameday, blog and message boards.
The St. John's Red Storm is the nickname used for the 17 varsity athletic programs of St. John's University, in the U.S. state of New York. St. John's 17 NCAA Division I teams compete in the Big East Conference, with the exception of the fencing team, which compete in the ECAC. On December 15, 2012, St. John's and the other six Catholic, non-FBS schools announced that they were departing the former Big East for a new conference. The "Catholic 7", after purchasing the "Big East" name from the FBS schools and adding Butler, Creighton, and Xavier, began operating as the new Big East Conference beginning in July 2013.
The Oakland Zoo is the student cheering section for the University of Pittsburgh men's and women's basketball teams. The Zoo cheers on the Panthers from the bottom tier of the stands at the Petersen Events Center, primarily across from the teams' benches and on the baselines under the baskets. The "Pete" holds a rowdy crowd of 1,500 students that are typically uniformly clad in gold t-shirts, and the Zoo student section is consistently sold out for Panthers home games. The Oakland Zoo is named after Oakland, the neighborhood in which the university is located. The name "Oakland Zoo" is used for the basketball cheering sections only; the football cheering section has often used the title, "The Panther Pitt."
Legion of Blue is the student cheering section supporting the Penn State Nittany Lions men's basketball team. The cheering section has been around as long as the Penn State basketball team, but the organization was formed in 2003 as the Nittwits before changing its name to Nittany Nation in 2007. In 2015, Nittany Nation was rebranded as Legion of Blue in an effort to better organize the group. Legion of Blue was named after the Legion of Boom, the nickname of the mid-2010s Seattle Seahawks defense that was popular during the time of the rebranding. ESPN and the Big Ten Network have featured the section during live game action.
The Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball team represents Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Saint Joseph's competes as well as part of the Philadelphia Big 5. Their home court is the Hagan Arena. The team is coached by Billy Lange, who was hired on March 28, 2019, after Phil Martelli was fired as head coach on March 19, 2019, after 24 seasons.
The Izzone is the Michigan State University men's basketball team student section organized and run by the Athletic Marketing Department at Michigan State University. Named after head coach Tom Izzo, the Izzone consists of nearly 5,000 members, seated in both the lower and upper bowls of the Breslin Center. With close to 5,000 members cheering on the MSU Men's Basketball team, the Izzone helps give the Breslin Center an exciting and intimidating atmosphere, and a considerable home-court advantage.
A student section or student cheering section is a group of student fans that supports its school's athletic teams at sporting events; they are known for being one of the most visible and vocal sections of a sports crowd as well as for their occasionally raucous behavior. They are most often associated with NCAA basketball and football games, but can be found in several sports in both college and high school. A student section is an important part of a school's fanbase and a significant contributor to home advantage.
Tyler Christopher Herro is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for one year with the Kentucky Wildcats.