Albion school spirit is high. For the seniors on campus, it’s arguably the highest they’ve ever seen in their four years. Don’t believe the hype? Then you haven’t visited Kresge Gymnasium since students arrived back in Albion on Jan. 21.
“It was really rekindled mainly at the home men’s game against Trine this year,” said the Kresge Krazys Twitter operator through a direct message with Caio Orofino, assistant sports editor for The Pleaid.
While the operators of the Twitter account asked to remain anonymous and a mystery to the entire campus, it’s no secret the Krazys, the name the student section at the south end of Kresge has adopted, helped turn Kresge into a dynamic atmosphere for home basketball games. After the first home game of the spring semester, forward Jordan Herron, Holt sophomore, tweeted that he “was told by a Trine player that we, Albion, have the best student section in the MIAA! #BritsVsEverybody #TurnUp.”
Not only have the Krazys brought great energy and their best heckling efforts to Kresge this season, but the leader of the Krazys spiced up the atmosphere with multiple themes throughout the season. They started with a white out, followed it up with a purple out and finished with a pink out. They even flirted with the idea of a beach themed night, but that was outvoted on Twitter by the purple out supporters.
According to athletic director Matt Arend, the Kresge Krazys was the name of the basketball student section in the early 2000s, but it somehow died off in the recent past.
“All of the old alums that are coaches, when they were here, it was Kresge Krazys,” Arend said. “I think things got a little too crazy and they kind of got shut down a little bit.”
But that hasn’t been the case with this group of students.
“The students have been awesome,” Arend said. “I think they’ve been loud and respectful, which I appreciate, so as long as it continues that way. If it’s a way to continue to get an organized group of students in that building, I’ll figure out ways to help them out.”
Arend added the Krazys even have the possibility of becoming an official campus organization, similar to the Maize Rage at the University of Michigan, if they continue to display this overwhelming support for Albion athletics throughout the spring semester and into the future.
Men’s basketball coach Jody May remembered this kind of support back in his days as an assistant coach at Albion, but he said none of the players on his current team have ever experienced the type of atmosphere the Krazys have provided this season.
“I hope this is a positive step for athletics in general, because I think a lot of the other athletes on other teams were at our games,” May said.
Photo courtesy of Lowell McGinnis
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