October, 1995 – I was a wide-eyed college freshman at a small private university in Kansas. My first time away from home and I was eager to experience all there was to offer. Although our school was tiny, with little over 800 students, we were very close to Lawrence and the University of Kansas.

Colorado isn’t exactly what you would call a basketball state, so you can imagine how eager I was to join my Zeta Chi brothers on a trip to Allen Field House for the Jayhawks first practice. I didn’t know at the time that the first practice of the season is less about basketball and more about college unity and celebration in a practice called “Midnight Madness.”

I was blown away.

The Jayhawks’ squad was a great one that year with Jacques Vaughn, Raef LaFrentz and Paul Pierce, but it was the electricity inside the building was something I would never forget. The place was packed to the rafters, music was pumping, the cheerleaders we pumping their lovely mid-western fists into the air and there were contests, giveaways and a slam dunk exhibition that saw then Jayhawks coach Roy Williams seated in a folding chair while Pierce jumped over him, dunked the basketball and nearly brought the roof down. And although I wasn’t a student at KU, I was close enough to adopt the ‘Hawks as my team right then and there.College basketball crowds are unique form other college athletics. While football will always be king, there is something special about watching a hallowed program run the hardwood. There is a special enthusiasm in college basketball that football doesn’t have. Maybe it’s the fact the most college football games are contested in outdoor venues so all of that energy can boil up and over the top of the stadium and out into the parking lot. College b-ball is different – all of that youthful exuberance is forced to stay inside bottled up until the fans just cannot take it any more and at sound of the last horn the student body is forced form their seats and out on to the floor. It’s not their fault. It is the only logical reaction to the unfolded drama laid out before them.So you can imagine my disappointment this week as college basketball analysts all over the boob tube were decrying the practice of the student body spilling out of the stands and on to the court after a thrilling victory. Disappointed because most of those talking heads had played or coached in big-time college basketball and they seemed to have forgotten what college basketball is all about. Has it been that long since you guys were late for class, gotten lost in the quad or played kissy-face in your first co-ed dorm? Has it really been that long?First and foremost college is about education and discovery. But it is also about experiencing new things and being excited about it. These suits and ties on the ESPN kept remarking that since so-and-so team has won X amount of games and conference titles or national championships doesn’t that make their program above their fans rushing out onto the floor? Shame on you guys. The answer should be a face-painted, giant-foam-fingered, bouncing-up-and-down-on-your-toes “No way!”College is fun, and students will always be students, away from home for the first time and as long as no one gets hurt, the fans in the student section should rush the floor after every win whether the game is a buzzer beating one-point victory or a 20-point blowout.At this point in their careers the players are still playing for the love of the game and free tuition. No sneaker contracts, no salary arbitration, no trade deadline – just the love of the game and the support of the student body. Also remember these are just kids 18-22-year-old kids playing their hearts out, so let’s not be in any rush to stop the rush.