How was the crowd and student section today? Seemed like a good turnout on the web stream.

Pregame was big-time...is the spotlight new? Don't remember that from before.

No MAC school comes close to that atmosphere. At all.

Man, let me tell you. That quiet side is nothing like it was in the "glory days", when my friends and I were in it. The sun shone a little brighter, birds sang a little sweeter, and the basketball was always flawless. Ever since I left it's obvious they've fallen into dire straits/OSU fans plague their numbers/the leadership is not good enough. How dare the quiet side not make as much noise as I perceived I did when I was there? It's a shame and a black mark on Ohio and the O Zone, which is always fantastic.

(Note: Names swapped to see how you like it.)

EDIT: This is why no one ever goes to the "O Zone" forum on this site. Bye.

ADDITIONAL EDIT: As one of the ones who is over their busting our asses and trying to be loud the whole game, I resent a lot of the self-entitlement displayed by many members of this website about how good the O Zone was when they were in it. We can do what we do and if it catches on, fine. If it doesn't, we have to deal with it and keep trying.

Bro, I said it's regressed every year since I've been a student (and it has). One could infer that it wasn't me or my friends that were responsible for the song birds or the sunshine. In fact one could infer that me and my friends could have made more noise, been more enthusiastic. I mean after all I said it's been getting quieter the entire time I've been going to games.

By the way, I'm one regular season game removed from my time of enrollment (1 year from undergrad). It's too soon to honestly refer to the time before yesterday as glory days.

But after all, I do understand you're just filling in the blanks for a default apologist's argument.

I've been to over 60 OHIO basketball games since the '08-09 season (almost entirely in the student section). Why am I not qualified to speak on this topic? 

Bro, I'll call you out. You're not busting your ass. I know who you are. I see your crew at games. Don't flatter yourselves. Sporadic noise with no rhyme or reason does not qualify as impassioned leadership.
 

I know JSF and shabamon were around before and during my time. Maybe they could speak to the O-Zone's noise levels over the last 4-6 years?

Stay strong man. Enthusiasm is contagious. The more fun it looks like you're having, the more people will get involved.

I would rather have 5 die hard fans who will cheer rather than 50 that just stand there and do nothing, We can't just have casual fans. We need those 50 to turn into a die hard fan

The O-Zone should use the 110! They are constantly loud, both at football and basketball.

I'm growing weary of these threads, but if my input is asked for, I'll weigh in.

I watched the first half of yesterday's game online. I would give you guys a pass with it being the Dad's weekend game, although that really shouldn't be an excuse not to do the usual if you really wanted to.

Since my freshman year (04-05), in my opinion the best years for the O Zone were 05-06, 06-07, and 10-11. However, I will say that last year's Akron game was the absolute best I've ever witnessed in terms of atmosphere. What made those years the best? A full section with plenty of students genuinely excited to be there. A good student section is noisy and energetic. Creativity is fun, too, but you don't have to come up with the next Myron Piggie gag to be effective. Also, make sure you are not crossing the line into being inappropriate. Save that for Buffalo fans. Every dunk, 3-pointer, or crucial defensive possession should send the section into the OOOOOO thing. If the person next to you doesn't follow, forget about them - it'll catch on.

I know there are a lot of people who want this to be a major basketball environment, but are you really busting your ass? Busting your ass would be doing something every possession. I blame moving the cheerleaders to the baselines in favor of the black seats, but those are a money maker and they are not going anywhere. So, when the cheerleaders aren't doing anything, it's on you to start a cheer yourselves. There are plenty of generic cheers that while not funny or aggressive, can still encourage participation:

*=clap

Go! O-H-I-O **
Green! White! Let's go Ohio! *
Green n White, Green n White, Go! Go!
Goooo Cats Go! ***
O-HI-O! OHIO * * *
OU**OU**
Here we go Bobcats, Here we go! **
Defense Bobcats Defense **
Let's Go Cats * Let's Go Cats *
Defense Defense Defense Bobcats

There are also opportunities to be reactive to the game. There are obvious ones, like when someone airballs or fouls out. But the O Zone used to let out a "That's good coaching" chant whenever there was a shot clock violation. I'm also in favor of a well-placed "Sit Down Shut Up" to an unruly coach. Last year I may have started a "You have no points" chant to UNC -Wilmington when they started the game in a funk. You can also stand to do some things in pregame to set the tone for the game. It can be as simple as someone starting a quick OU-Oh Yeah. UCLA's roll call chant is cool, too.

I'm an adult now. I feel like I shouldn't be dabbling in this stuff anymore, but I also love a great college basketball atmosphere and  I'm willing to offer my limited assistance if it's appreciated. So to recap:

1) Be genuinely excited to be there, no matter who the opponent is. It will rub off on the shyer people around you.
2) Try to do something, anything, on every possession.
3) Consider utilizing event staff to allow only official tee shirt wearing members access up until tipoff. Seriously, I have no idea why this ever went away. Suzie Sorority who goes to only one game per year because she can get a free scarf doesn't get the best seat in the house.

I'll weigh in with my own "back in my day..." message.  The Ozone was the best at it's start, 2001-03, and most of that was thanks to Dan Lowe.  A defined leader who RELISHES the role is so important.  I don't have the personality to do that job, so I won't throw stones at anyone who isn't stepping up...I'm just saying it is very important.

Were you going for "relinquishes" or "relishes"? Could be either from the context.