| CBU’S BASKETBALL
SUPPORT SOMETHING SPECIAL
By Dan Robertson
March 2 ,
2010
How
about
the
"Orange
Army"?
That’s
the
nickname
for
the
many
supporters
of
Cape
Breton
University
basketball,
who
make
Sullivan
Field
House
a
difficult
place
to
play
for
any
team
that
dares
to
try
to
beat
the
Capers.
CBU
did
a
tremendous
job
hosting
the
AUS
women’s
championship
the
weekend
of
February
26th.
The
six-team
tournament
went
without
a
hitch,
as
is
usually
the
case
at
an
AUS
basketball
event,
but
what
made
the
difference
was
the
fan
support.
It
was
remarkable.
The
place
was
packed
for
the
Capers’ two
games,
as
they
defended
their
conference
title
with
a
semi-final
win
over
Dalhousie
and
a
victory
over
Saint
Mary’s
in
Sunday’s
title
game. There
were
no
seats
to
be
found,
especially
on
Sunday,
as
the
overflow
crowd
was
forced
to
stand
and
watch
the
game
from
an
adjacent
court.
According
to
CBU
Athletic
Director
John
Ryan,
the
gym
has
about
800
seats,
almost
all
of
which
were
occupied
all
weekend,
even
on
Friday
when
the
Capers
didn’t
play.
Ryan
estimates
there
were
1000-1200
fans
on
Sunday
and
3500
for
the
weekend.
Considering
the
terrible
weather
on
Saturday
and
the
fact
the
campus
isn’t
necessarily
conveniently
located
for
basketball
fans,
those
numbers
are
impressive.
Even
more
impressive
than
the
sheer
number
of
fans
was
their
collective
spirit.
The
gym
was
extremely
loud
for
both
Capers’ games,
as
fans
literally
of
all
ages
showed
their
support.
They
are
also
very
knowledgeable.
When
5th
year
forward
Karmen
Brown
fouled
out
of
Sunday’s
game
in
the
fourth
quarter,
the
fans
realized
she
had
seen
her
last
action
on
her
home
court.
They
responded
with
a
standing
ovation,
which
had
to
ease
Brown’s
pain
at
least
a
little
bit.
Long
after
the
game
had
ended,
fans
hung
around,
celebrating
to
the
relentless
rhythm
of
the
makeshift
percussion
band
that
never
misses
a
game.
John
Ryan
says
only
Memorial
can
boast
of
similar
support
for
their
women’s
team.
Head
Coach
Fabian
McKenzie
also
mentioned
the
incredible
support
in
the
post
game,
as
did
his
players.
Every
university
athlete
should
be
so
lucky
to
have
their
own
Orange
Army
at
their
back.
Where
does
Sid’s
goal
rank?
When
Sidney
Crosby
scored
the
gold-medal
winning
goal
against
the
USA,
I
immediately
started
to
wonder
where
it
ranks
all-time
in
Canadian
hockey
history.
Time
will
tell,
but
I
say
it
comes
in
at
number
two.
Mario
Lemieux’s
last-minute
goal
to
win
the
1987
Canada
Cup
is
unforgettable,
mostly
because
it
was
the
culmination
of
arguably
the
most
entertaining
series
hockey
fans
will
ever
see,
but
the
Canada
Cup
wasn’t
exactly
as
wide-reaching
as
the
Olympics.
Same
thing
with
Darryl
Sittler’s
overtime
winner
against
Czechoslovakia
in
1976,
which
comes
in
somewhere
after
Mario’s
goal.
While
Crosby’s
goal
met
all
the
criteria
of
a
classic
(overtime,
on
home
ice,
massive
world-wide
audience),
nothing
will
ever
match
the
significance
of
Paul
Henderson’s
goal
in
game
8
of
1972’s
Summit
Series
vs.
the
Russians.
Speaking
of
Crosby,
I
got
a
little
tired
of
people
wondering
why
he
wasn’t
producing
points
in
the
late
going
of
the
tournament.
To
me,
it
was
obvious:
he
wasn’t
getting
enough
ice
time.
Guys
like
that
need
to
be
on
the
ice
at
least
every
third
shift
to
get
into
the
groove.
With
a
plethora
of
talent,
head
coach
Mike
Babcock
rolled
four
lines.
Ultimately,
it
worked:
Canada
won,
but
I
would
like
to
have
seen
more
of
Crosby
at
the
expense
of
guys
like
Mike
Richards
and
even
Joe
Thornton,
who
didn’t
stand
out
at
all.
Babcock’s
use
of
Crosby
was
somewhat
reminiscent
of
the
2004
World
Junior
Championships
when
Canada
lost
to
the
United
States
in
the
gold
medal
game
in
Finland.
He
was
only
16
years-old,
but
would
be
named
the
CHL’s
player
of
the
year
following
the
season.
In
that
tournament,
Crosby
was
basically
relegated
to
fourth-line
centre,
yet
played
on
the
first
powerplay
unit;
an
odd
combination,
I
thought.
If
he
was
good
enough
to
centre
the
powerplay,
why
was
he
on
the
fourth
line?
Canada’s
head
coach
that
year?
Mario
Durocher,
now
with
the
Cape
Breton
Screaming
Eagles.
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