Basketball: Up close and personal

After watching the Huskies beat UCLA today at the Bank of America Arena I hope that, no matter how popular and successful the Huskies become, they keep this arena just the way it is today: small and fan-friendly. There’s something about watching a basketball game in tight quarters where you can hear the players jaw at each other and the refs. I like the near ear-splitting sounds the fans can generate is a smaller space. At today’s game I could even hear when certain fouls took place such as bodies colliding under the basket and hands slapping arms during shot attempts. The larger arena gain butts in seats but lose much of the excitement that’s generated by sitting close to the action. It’s hard to imagine that UCLA players weren’t distracted at least one or twice due to the noise and proximity of the wild Husky fans.