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OSU Student BBall Fans (Official Thread)



MATTARITAVILLE FOUNDERS WANT TO SEE CAMPING RETURN TO THE SCHOTTENSTEIN CENTER'S SIDEWALKS

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Not long ago, a driver passing by the Schottenstein Center on Lane Ave. on the eve of a big Buckeye basketball game would be treated to the sight of a small village of brightly colored nylon inhabiting the sidewalks outside Ohio State's home arena.

Rain, sleet, snow or shine, students would pitch tents in Mattaritaville — named affectionately after the now-former Ohio State head coach — for what was sometimes multiple nights before a game to ensure themselves front-row, courtside tickets in the NutHouse student section.

The tents first arrived during the 2011-12 season when the Buckeyes hosted Duke. A few students camped on the sidewalk outside of the Schottenstein Center the night before the game to get front row tickets to the blockbuster battle. The tradition grew over the next few years and at one during the 2012-13 season, Mattaritaville had 135 residents in 35 tents the night before Ohio State took on Indiana, with the first tents arriving nearly a week in advance.

The tent town got so big, a few of the students decided to make it an official student organization. With the right paperwork and the help of one Mattaritaville's founders, Cody Crowther, who a student employee in the Schottenstein Event Services Department at the time, the tent town took off.

Crowther worked with his supervisors at the Schottenstein Center to make sure students had access to power outlets and bathrooms inside the building and used the Twitter account to help coordinate food deliveries to campers and spread information.

For a few years, Mattaritaville was popping. Students would wait outside gates of the Schottenstein Center for days, essentially holding a multi-day tailgate. There was cornhole, beer, music, "Mattaritas," and almost always some sort of food item being delivered by someone wishing to show their support — the alumni association, the coaching staff, former associate athletic director Ben Jay or even the school's head IT guy. A few coaches and players would even make appearances to show their support to the students who often camped in sub-zero temperatures.

That's all changed, though. The past few years, Mattaritaville has been a ghost town. The Buckeyes haven't made the NCAA Tournament in two seasons, finished in the bottom half of the Big Ten and haven't really had a quality home win or a true star player since D'Angelo Russell. Students aren't even filling the student section, much less are they camping in sub-freezing temperatures for good seats.

With the hiring of Chris Holtmann, though, there's a renewed sense of optimism for the Buckeye basketball program. For the first time in years, it feels like Ohio State has felt a boost in recruiting and has a bright future ahead of it. Buckeye basketball fans hope Holtmann is the guy to bring Ohio State back to national prominence, and when that happens, the veterans of Mattaritaville hope the tents come back to the Schott.

"I would like to hope that Mattaritaville will be back with a vengeance once the team picks back up again," said Jake Johnson, the first official president of Mattaritaville. "I’m incredibly optimistic of our team’s future under Coach Holtmann, and with that success, I think we will see the demand for those prime front-row seats grow once again."

While the front-row seats undoubtedly provide a great view of the action, it also gives students a unique opportunity to interact with opposing players, coaches and referees, which led to some great memories.

Rob Barbush, a Mattaritaville veteran, recalled times when Tom Izzo admitted to him that he should have taken the Cleveland Cavaliers coaching job and audibly cursed to himself when he and his friends brought up his Werner Ladder dance. He also remembered a time when Mark Turgeon handed him his clipboard to draw up a play and another when he stole Tom Crean's diet coke from the table in front of him.

Entire article: http://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-...return-to-the-schottenstein-centers-sidewalks

See comments in article, will the new tent town be Holtmannapolis, Holtown, or Holtmandu?
 
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