Fans Cheer on Rams as They Depart for NCAA Tournament

By Tom Gresham

With memories of last season’s thrilling Final Four run still fresh, more than 150 fans turned out at the Siegel Center today to wish the VCU men’s basketball team well as it departed for Portland, Ore., and its bid to storm through the NCAA tournament again.

Many in the crowd sported black and gold, and much of the apparel commemorated 2011’s tournament heroics. Cheers built among those in attendance, including “Let’s Go VCU” and “You Don’t Want to Go to War with the Rams,” as the players and coaches filed from the Siegel Center, slapping five with the fans lining their way, and boarded buses for the airport.

Superfans Aimee Redford and Michelle Richards, who are both seniors at VCU, think the Rams have the capacity to replicate last year’s magic. The students, who have attended every VCU home basketball game during their time at VCU, are keeping superstitious to do their part, including attending the send-off from the Siegel Center – something they did last year, too – even though it came in the middle of spring break.

“We’re really hoping for a repeat,” Richards said.The Rams (28-6) are the No. 12 seed in the South region this year and will square off against fellow mid-major power Wichita State (27-5), the region’s No. 5 seed, on Thursday at 7:15 p.m. Last year, VCU edged Wichita St., 68-67, in dramatic fashion in a BracketBusters game that was critical to the Rams securing the NCAA tournament berth that launched their historic run.

Redford and Richards said support for the basketball program at VCU has been strong since they arrived, but it’s reached new heights this season.

“The fans went through the roof this year,” Richards said. Last year’s Final Four run “has gotten everybody much more spirited. There’s a more electric atmosphere at games now.”

Redford said more members of the VCU community have adopted the team with a diehard’s zeal, such as James Brooks, a formerly casual fan who was at today’s event with Redford and Richards. He said he has been friends with Redford and Richards since high school and the combination of their passion and the team’s continuing success brought him into the fold.

The winner of the VCU-Wichita St. game will play Saturday against the winner of the second round contest between No. 4 seed Indiana and No. 13 New Mexico St.

“Anything’s possible with this team,” Redford said. “When they play together as a team, they can do anything they want.”