Rival Rematch
When rivals face off, those watching cannot help but feel the thrill. Although they may disagree, Azusa Pacific University is CBU’s main competitor in Division II athletics. Even before the switch from NAIA to NCAA, the Lancers have been facing off with the Cougars for years now, and the same drive for domination persists even to today. Lancer basketball was the arena this time around, and I witnessed the best and worst of outcomes.
Our first battle against APU was at Azusa, and everything was going against us. I caravanned over with some friends, wore my ironed CBU Crazies shirt and felt pumped to see our then undefeated team completely annihilate these guys. There were a good number of CBU students as well with our Crazies leading the cheers like a home game. The APU homeside, however, made it nearly impossible for us to cheer above their own chants. “The Zu,” as they are now called, filled the stands and upper levels and held the most random posters of players and celebrities faces. Upon walking in, a man from the CBU athletic department handed me a whole pizza, which sparked my CBU pride instantly, but I couldn’t keep it up for the whole game. None of our players were playing at their top level, and the Zu kept up the badgering and jeers throughout both halves. APU tainted our winning record. That wouldn’t be the end of it.
With that defeat in mind, the week leading up to the rematch kept me on edge. It would be a home game, and our team had won every game since losing the game to APU. Anticipating a sellout, the school even handed out tickets early in the week for those loyal fans who wanted a guaranteed admittance. There was no way that I was missing another home game, so I grabbed a ticket and guarded it with my life. That ticket did not leave my green folder, which is always in my back pack, which is always on my back, for the five days leading up to Saturday night. Even when a group of my friends tempted me with a trip to the Van Buren Drive-in Theater, I had to stay true to my Lancers.
I walked into the gym by 7 p.m. and found the stands packed with a more punctual fan base than I expected. I wasn’t leaving, though, which resulted in standing on the staircase leading to the upstairs office for a nice aerial view. Compared to Azusa, our home game environment felt much friendlier, even with our home team cheers. I’m not being biased either. We keep it classy but competitive. Our players responded well to that, too, since we were on fire all night. The team jumped ahead early and kept it that way throughout the whole game. My friends and I even found seats in the middle by half time and kept the crowd energy going from the inside. Our Lancers won with about the same difference in score as the last game, except switched. With that victory, our team is now 20-1 and ranked 8th in Division II. It’s a good time to be a Lancer.
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