Dana Lake ‘23
Production Editor
Out of respect for the Law Weekly’s actual Sports Editor, I won’t pretend to give you a match report for the February 1 men’s basketball game that is filled with things like “stats” and “knowledge.” You can check out Jeff White at VirginiaSports.com for a great summary of that game and the overall season. This article has a more critical goal than pointing out career bests (Number 21 Kadin Shedrick, scoring thirteen points) and team highlights (UVA made twenty-six out of twenty-nine free throws). This writing is purely to encourage you to get to a game while you can.
Spring semester is the worst, no matter what year you’re in. 1Ls are looking for jobs and applying to journals, 2Ls are taking as many credits as they can so they can do 12-and-12 their last year, and 3Ls are so mentally checked out they might as well be Big Law drones already. It’s cold, it’s wet, and Valentine’s Day is right around the corner to disrupt the last of your emotional equilibrium. We are all Rose, looking for our bit of driftwood to cling to without regard for the Jacks we drown along the way. Some people grab onto Feb Club, others throw themselves into Libel. But for you folks who don’t want to drink and don’t want to sing, there is UVA Men’s basketball.
Photo Courtesy of Dana Lake '23.
The student section is on its feet for the whole game, interrupted often enough with breaks and timeouts to be bearable for even the most sedentary law student. There’s also a pressure-free section on the side for those who can’t or don’t want to stand but still want the hype of being surrounded by heckling undergrads. And boy, do they heckle. UVA fans know how to demoralize opposing teams and referees alike, with coordinated arm movements and chanting to drive the point home. There are a few traditions that are easy to pick up over the course of the first half, but there is plenty of room for ad-libbing your own jeers and cheers.
The energy in John Paul Jones Arena is hard to resist. Fitted with industrial-strength subwoofers and filled with cheerleaders and dance teams anytime the players aren’t sprinting back and forth across the court, there are enough flashing lights and activity to take your mind off even the most pressing deadline. For two hours you can let go of the law and embrace the epic highs and lows of college basketball.
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dl9uh@virginia.edu