The Post sits down with Wildside president Alex Wilcox
Photo: Courtesy of the Wildside
How often have you gone to a Northwestern basketball game and seen giant cardboard cutout heads floating around in the student section? For the most part, those giant Michael Wilbons and Seth Meyers are a product of the efforts of Northwestern Wildside, a student group started in 2010 to increase fan support of Northwestern athletics. Ranging from bringing props and organizing attendance to creating trash talk tips for opposing teams, Wildside works with the school’s athletic department to come up with and implement creative methods of showing our colors. Post Reporter Ryan Beauchamp sat down with Wildside President Alex Wilcox to learn more about the Wildside. Check out the highlights, after the jump.
Why Northwestern has the Wildside:
“Wildside was founded in 2010 just as part of an initiative to really increase the student section environment at sporting events. Northwestern is committed to competing athletically across the board, and to do that, you need the full support of students cheering on their classmates at games.”
On what sports to focus on:
“We were formed to focus on football and basketball, but we really try to make an effort to get students to all sporting events. We try to promote at least one game for every sport that we think students would be interested in attending. Obviously, women’s lacrosse in the spring is always exciting as football and basketball have finished, and they are incredibly accomplished and always fun to watch. Men’s soccer in the fall is also one sport we spend a little more time on.”
On the Home Court Challenge:
“The Home Court Challenge is a contest sponsored by the Big Ten Network that pits the 12 Big Ten basketball student sections against each other for a friendly competition during big ten play. We calculate the opposing team’s free throw percentage in each arena, and at the end of the season, the student section that has been the most distracting, meaning they have the lowest opponents FT%, wins $5000 for charity. Last year was the first year of the challenge, and Wildside won, so we won $5000 for Uplifting Athletes, which was incredibly exciting.”
On the future of Wildside:
“Hopefully, Wildside will keep on growing to the point where we are consistently filling student sections at all football and basketball games. We’re certainly heading in the right direction, and I can’t wait to attend a football game in 5 years at Ryan Field, and see how much progress has been made.”
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Source:
http://www.nuintel.net/sports/the-story-behind-the-cardboard-heads-at-basketball-games/
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