My school, Anderson University, is about 45 minutes away from Upland, Indiana where Taylor University is located. The game started at 6:00 and, like any organized college student, my friend Alex Baker and I made the decision to go at 4:45. After having to make our own parking spot due to the packed parking lot outside TU's Odle Arena, we made our way into the gymnasium with about thirty minutes to spare before tip-off.
I knew a little bit about the tradition. I knew students dressed up and that they sit silently until the Trojans score their tenth point, but I didn't realize how great the atmosphere was. On our way into the gym we noticed that even the little kids who are either family members of the players or just viewers from the community were even dressed in costumes. It was then I realized just how big this tradition had become. We paid for our tickets ($10 but totally worth the price of admission) and walked into the gym in search of two seats. Keep in mind there were still thirty minutes before the game even started but the gym was already packed to the gills. I would venture to say the place could seat about 2,000 people yet there were probably closer to 2,600-2,700 people in the venue. Not to mention EVERY student was dressed up. Freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, it didn't matter. There were costumes everywhere, most notably:
| The Teletubbies headlined a long list of phenomenal costumes |
Jackie Moon from Will Ferrell's "Semi Pro"
Buddy the Elf
The aliens from Toy Story
The Grinch
Yoshi
It put any Halloween party I've ever seen to shame and it was hilarious looking across the gym at the student section and pointing out all the different outfits. As far as finding a seat was concerned, that was a lost cause. We paced up and down the sideline for about ten minutes just looking for the tiniest hole in the crowd where we could squeeze in but had zero luck with that. The majority of the seats behind the benches were reserved for the families of the players, and rightfully so, but that left very little room for the general public. We finally settled for standing on the baseline about six rows deep in the crowd.
Once warm-ups concluded, the public address announcer came over the speaker and asked that any kids that were present to come down to center court for a dance party while the teams had gone back to the locker rooms. Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" came over the sound system and about thirty little kids danced for all they were worth. The student section sang along and went especially wild when one little guy started break dancing. The kids were then joined by the Teletubbies, the Easter bunny, and a number of other Taylor students as the song continued to play.
The dance party ended and everyone returned to their seats as Taylor returned to the floor to the sound of thunderous applause from the crowd. Once the National Anthem had been sung, the crowd sat down and got extremely quiet. When it was time to announce the starting lineups for the visiting team, Chillicothe, about twelve guys dressed like farmers came out of the student section and lined up in front of the students as if the starting lineups were for them. They had about four guys on each side making the tunnel, with one guy at the end doing the chest bumps and hand shakes. With each Chillicothe player that was announced, a farmer would go through the tunnel at the same time. I couldn't tell you anything that happened during Chillicothe's starting lineups because I was too busy laughing at the farmers being "introduced".
Then it came time for Taylor's starting lineups, and the farmers took their seats. Rather than clapping and cheering for the TU players, the students would raise both hands and do the "spirit fingers". It then dawned on me that that was the substitute for clapping even when the game had started. Once the ball was tipped, it was really odd watching the game in complete silence. Even the parents and other fans were dead quiet at the start. You could hear the squeak of the shoes and the voice of each player and coach with ease. It was like watching a scrimmage only there were about 2,700 people there to watch.
Just to give you an idea of how dedicated the students were to being silent, there was a play early in the game where a Taylor player and a Chillicothe player were both going for a loose ball at half court in front of the students. The ball appeared to be off the Chillicothe player but the ref signaled that it was off Taylor. The Taylor student who grabbed the ball stood up and threw both hands up in the air in disgust before animatedly pointing at the Chillicothe player, signaling that he thought the call was wrong. Yet through this animated display of disagreement, not a single sound was made. It was impressive to say the least.
| Crowe's three sent the gym into absolute chaos |
Sure enough, on the next possession, freshman guard Evan Crowe buried a three from the baseline right in front of the students. I have never in my life heard a gym explode the way Odle Arena did. Hands went up and screams rang throughout the building. I couldn't hear myself think but I had chills like never before. There was an immediate timeout and "GDFR" by Flo Rida came over the speakers and the students jumped and danced and yelled for every second of that timeout. From then on, you just knew Chillicothe didn't stand a chance (Taylor would go on to win 100-50).
After the timeout, Chillicothe had the ball and their possession resulted in a blocked dunk attempt courtesy of Taylor big man Vivian Aiken. "Spirit fingers" from the crowd were not necessary anymore. They roared their approval almost as loudly as they did when Crowe's three-pointer went down. It was almost as soon as the students began to settle down (and I use that term loosely) that Aiken threw down a two-handed dunk on the ensuing possession. It was absolute pandemonium in that gym and it was a beautiful thing to see.
What struck me the most about the night was the discipline of the Taylor students. I don't mean that to sound like the administration was real strict or anything, I mean that as a credit to how the students handled themselves and the event. Nobody acted stupid and made noise before the tenth point and, as I said earlier, every student I saw was dressed up. And when the tenth point was scored, the students stayed off the court. They jumped around and hugged but they didn't storm the court or do anything to take away from the event. It was handled very well and I think that's what makes the event so great. The students respect the tradition and do everything possible to make it better every year.
Upland, Indiana isn't exactly a tourist destination. But if you ever get the chance to attend the "Silent Night" game at Taylor University I would strongly encourage you to do so. I've been in 17 MLB ballparks, three NBA arenas, and I've been to two NCAA Final Fours, but I have never seen an atmosphere quite like Taylor's. That's a tradition that can't be copied or matched and TU has a phenomenal thing going with that idea. So props to you, Taylor, and thanks for giving an avid basketball fan an experience to remember.
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