When you walk around Pitt the weekend of a basketball game, the campus seems surprisingly quiet. You may assume that the students are nursing their hangovers, but you’ll find that’s not the case: take a hike to upper campus, walk into the Peterson Event Center (or the “Pete”), and you’ll hear the campus as loud as it will ever be, with a herd of students wearing matching gold shirts, screaming their heads off. That’s right; I’m talking about the Oakland Zoo.
Ranked the second best student section in college basketball, the Oakland Zoo is one of the most amazing aspects of Pitt. Oozing with traditions and cheers, the Zoo brings students together. We may not have the best college basketball team on the planet, but the spirit, love, and dedication students of the Zoo have for their team makes it, in my eyes, the best basketball program of any college.Â
Being a part of the Zoo is without a doubt the most fun you can have at a sporting event. The excitement and energy begins when they announce the players of the opposing team. Students read newspapers while they say the names of the players and scream “SUCKS!” after every name. This continues as students jump up and down wildly every time the opponents have the ball.Â
No matter which game you go to, you’ll leave the stadium in your Oakland Zoo shirt with a huge smile on your face. That’s the best part of being a Pitt sports fan: I leave the stadium laughing, and always astonished by how crazy the Zoo is.
As for the Pitt-Syracuse game…
This past weekend, the term “Oakland Zoo” was taken to a whole new level at the Syracuse game (check out the video link below to see just how crazy it was). I knew Syracuse was a big matchup, but I was not expecting to get my unmotivated butt to the stadium at 9 pm (keep in mind, the game was at 12 pm the next day). When I arrived, people were already camped out inside! I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the amount of crazies (myself included) who were willing to sleep on the cold, hard floor of the arena just for a seat in the Zoo.
With music playing throughout the night, along with tents, televisions, and air mattresses present, I was torn between laughing at the sight of it all, or bailing to go to my comfy bed (I managed to sleep a solid two hours). By 5 AM the line zigzagged across the arena lobby.
When we were finally allowed to go to our seats, you would expect everyone to fall over and sleep, but by game time, the noise echoed in every corner of the Pete. I’ve never jumped, screamed, or clapped so hard in my life. It was exhausting, but seeing Pitt take down Syracuse, sleeping on the floor of the arena (never again), and being a part of the Oakland Zoo for one of the biggest games ever, made for the craziest 24 hours that I’ve ever had.Â
When I first decided to go to Pitt, I loved everything about it, but I was slightly upset that Pitt’s sports weren’t as highly ranked as some of the other schools I was considering. After making the best decision of my life and becoming a Panther, I now realize that win or lose, I’ll be having a better experience than the students at any other top schools because unlike them, I’ll be watching my games from the Oakland Zoo, jumping up and down, acting like an animal.
* If you’re interested in seeing the madness that went on at the Syracuse game, from sleeping in the arena, to the usual Zoo craziness, check out this footage from the weekend, put together by Pitt student Ryan Bauer! It totally sums up how awesome the Zoo truly is. Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…
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