Last week, 537 people were in attendance to watch Central’s women’s basketball team take on the second-ranked team in the country—a pivotal match-up for a Wildcat team coming off its biggest road victory in quite a while.

The turnout wasn’t bad, but where was the noise? The crowd at my 0-20 high school basketball team’s games made more noise when we were getting blown out by 20 points against virtually every team we played.

Let’s show some spirit Central students. Create a home-court advantage for your team and make other schools fear entering ‘The Pav.’

When our women’s team fell behind early in last Thursday’s game, there was no encouragement or energy from the crowd for our team to feed off of.

Remember when ROOT Sports came here last year? That sort of vibe needs to be the norm at Central games. Get crazy, get rowdy, yell at refs when they make a bad call, heckle free-throw shooters and make sure the other team knows they are in a hostile environment.

The band and cheerleaders shouldn’t be making all the noise. You should be right there with them.

Part of the lifeblood of college sports is the fans. It’s a different experience than professional games. 500-plus college students can make a lot of noise. A party of only 30 can easily be loud enough to get a noise violation. I know you can do it.

You want more televised games on ROOT Sports? Earn them. Nobody wants to watch a game with lifeless fans that don’t even look like they are enjoying their time.

This Saturday, ROOT Sports will return for Central’s game against rival Western Washington University. I expect a packed house with rowdy fans just like last year, but let’s start doing it for more than just the cameras.

Don’t wait for the spotlight to come here—bring it here.

There is no excuse not to go. Tickets are free if you’re a student. Some other schools charge their student for tickets. Including the University of Washington, and they don’t even guarantee you a seat in the student section.

With the demand for televised college sports continuing to grow, it’s time to put Central on the map as a good place to watch a Division II basketball game.