You want a hockey atmosphere for Wolfpack basketball, Lee?

You reap what you sew. How many times have we heard that expression? I remember back in the fall of 1994, when I first arrived on N.C. State's campus. A lot of things happened that year, both in the real world, and in my own personal one. Oh to be an 18 year old kid again!! Anyway, the thing I remember most about that year was camping out for tickets to the home tilt against Carolina.

I got two tickets, one for me, and for my (now former) brother in law. He was a UNC fan. We sat in the "end zone" about midway up the student section. You could not have sat down during that game if you wanted to. It was crazy. The atmosphere was phenomenal. The noise level was insane. Lakista McCuller hit 3 after 3, and Rasheed and the boys took the big upset.

Fast forward to sophomore year. The game was Duke. We camped out once more, and got the absolute best seats in the house. Front row, midcourt. It was nuts. The crowd was about as raucous as you can get. All 12,500 people in the building went crazy the entire game, which Duke won. But it's the student section, surrounding the floor, and so close you could almost reach out and touch the hardwood, that made it what it was. Of course, that was in Reynolds.

I'll never forget those games in Reynolds. I went to as many games as I could, and now I cherish those memories like no other. Yes, our team stunk. We were in the midst of the Les years, and the lack of talent was tremendous. You wouldn't have known it, though, if you only observed the crowd. You would have thought State was the best team in the land. That's how we carried ourselves. That's how we cheered for our team, with chants that carried the crowd, and didn't get lost in the rafters. That's what this team needs to recover.

Here is what I think we should do. We need to rethink the entire home schedule. We need to rethink the entire revenue streaming process. We need to rethink the season ticket process. Throw it all away. Our current system is now obsolete, if my plan takes effect.

Each year, we play the other Big 4 schools in Reynolds. I know, I know. 6,000 less seats. That's a lot of lost ticket sales, and a lot of lost concession sales. Charge a $10 premium, per game, per seat, for these contests. No one will mind paying the extra money to get to watch these games in Reynolds. The student tickets are give aways already, so they don't matter. Then, with the remaining ACC games, you alternate each year what games will be in Reynolds, and what games will be in the RBC Center. Maybe one out of 4 years each school gets played in Reynolds. All non-conference games are played at the RBC Center. Only ACC schools should have the honor of hitting those floors.

We would be the first school to recognize that moving to a new arena was a mistake as far as atmosphere is concerned. To me, it's not worth the extra money to give up the experience that was Reynolds. I love the RBC Center, it's a great place to watch a game. It will never be Reynolds, though. You don't get that nostalgic feeling when you enter the RBC Center. You don't see DT, Googs, or even Todd Fuller's ghost gliding down the court. It will take time to build that, I know. My question, however, is whether or not it's worth it.

So, Mr. Fowler, if you want to get that "hockey" atmosphere for your precious Wolfpack basketball games, you are going to have to do two things. One, you have to build a winning team, which is going to take time. I think Lowe will do a good job, no reason to think that he will not. The fact that he is scratching that awful "no-ffense" that Herb ran will be a big boost. It's hard to get into a game if your falling asleep. It's not going to happen overnight, though. In the interim, play some home games at Reynolds. Yes, it will drop overall revenue, but look at what it could gain you. You can't measure the intangibles that having these kids play in Reynolds would provide.

More to come.....