I know this is far from the top topic on your mind this week but I wanted to report back - at a minumum to thank those who helped me with color fo my trip.
Biggest takeaway - do this if you get a chance. Seeing a game at Allen is everything I thought it would be and more. It’s impossible not to get caught up in the history of the place. You approach by walking past the intersection of Naismith Drive and Allen Fieldhouse Drive and something inside you gets revved. After walking the statue of Naismith (and the obligatory picture) you enter into a museum like area. While there is a Kansas centric focus - it feels more like a museum celebrating the history of basketball than for example the museum in Cameron. One of the high points is getting to see Naismith 13 Original Rules. There is also a little section focused on Wilt that reinforces his dominance - especially how he compared to the players of that time.
While I think it would be even more impactful if Allen had more of a vintage feel to it, as the game tips you can’t help but think this is really where basketball grew up under Naismith and then Allen.
It may be difficult to fully compare Allen to Cameron given the game I saw was not competitive - the most interesting question was whether WVU was going to beat State’s 24 point total as bad as they looked on during much of the first half. That being said, I can’t believe the game experience at Allen is better than at Cameron. I don’t think anything adds to the game like having the students along the court - and all the more so right on top of it. It’s not the same when they are relegated to behind the baskets. I thought the periodic entertainment during time outs and other stops is more energetic at Cameron as well.
The one thing I was disappointed in was the Rock, Chalk Jayhawk chant. I never paid attention to it before but I found it kind of creepy. It’s like a hymn or spiritual chant - generally very slow (I think it can/does ultimately sped it up later) but I was just expecting something more powerful and upbeat.
We took up Hingeknocker’s recommendation and went to Free State Brewery post-game to watch Duke vs. State. Have to say I was disappointed to see the dislike for Duke as we cheered them up (somewhat amazingly one of my friends brought a friend of his who was my classmate at Fuqua and who I hadn’t seen since graduation). One guy was telling us we paid Zion 100k to come to Duke and it was clear just about everyone there was just very anti Duke. We had a nice little De Souza reply for our one friend
. I actually like and respect the Kansas program and was hoping for better treatment from Midwestern folk who are pretty rabid hoop fans but Duke hate just seems to dominate everywhere these days.
As you can guess from my user name I grew up in Philly and would probably rate the Palestra a little higher for the feel of the place - this is definitely one of the best places you can see a game.
Thanks again to all those who’ve replied here and most importantly 9F!