Page 6
Daily Nebraskan
Tuesday, January 28, 1986
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By Jonathan Taylor
Senior Reporter
Whenever coach Moe Iba or his play
ers mention the "home court advan
tage," they're probably talking about
the guys from Harper 4.
The clan of about 16 Harper Hall
students are easy to spot at Nebraska's
home basketball games. Sporting ob
noxious Hawaiian shirts, the bunch
look more prepared for a beach party
than Big Eight hoop action.
But most people in the Bob Devaney
Sports Center probably hear the group
before they see them.
While they don't claim to be respon
sible for all of the pandemonium that
takes place in the arena, UNL juniors
Chris Hanke and Bill Koenig said their
group's boisterous behavior helps en
sure the Huskers' home-court advantage.
"If we keep the crowd electrified,"
Hanke said, "it helps get the players'
adrenaline going."
Overzealous cheering seems to serve
as therapy for the fans as well.
"It lets us vent our frustrations,"
Koenig said. Yelling and screaming
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Train to do a job in that
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hooligan
also lets the fans play a part in the
game the players can't, Hanke said.
"The players have to have their mind
on the game, so they can't show that
much emotion," he said, "The crowd's
purpose is to show that emotion."
In Saturday's boxing-basketball
match with Iowa State, the Harper 4
bunch appeared especially outspoken.
Although most of them had camped
outside of the ticket office to get the
courtside seats they had next to the
band, they did not use them much.
Whether it was a layup for Nebraska
or a call deemed questionable by
Husker fans, Harper 4 fanatics launched
from the bleachers to express their joy
or grief. The red stripe that rings the
court is all that keeps them from
becoming actual participants in the
game.
"We get as close as we can," Hanke
said. "There's no question the players
and refs can hear us.".
Such antics do make a difference,
the two agreed. Although they claim
their actions are "all in fun," occas
sionally an official's call can be swayed
in the process, they said. For example,
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Hanke said, the clan put up such a fuss
once that the official called an oppos
ing player out of bounds when he was
really in by quite a healthy margin.
That sort of stuff, he added, "livens up
the sport."
A similar phenomenon occurred Sat
urday. After two players had been
ejected from the game for fighting, it
was the fans who first protested when
Iowa State's Jeff Grayer one of the
two ejected had re-entered the
game.
- Some referees put up with their ver
bal abuse and even laugh at their
more humorous taunts, Koenig said.
Obscenities are kept to a minimum, he
said, but fans will be fans "and some
times we don't do a good job."
Also, an opposing player who dis
pleases the group is automatically
incorporated into its cheering attack.
Following the fight, Cyclone senior guard
Jeff Homacek was such a victim.
Because the fans thought he had started
the fisticuffs, everytime he touched the
ball he was met with a chorus of jeering
and booing.
Such activity is also a reason stu
dents choose to be fans and not mem
bers of Nebraska pom pon squad. "They
have to be well-behaved, we don't," he
said.
The Hawaiian guys, however, don't
have the monopoly on strange behavior.
Elsewhere in the arena, fan craziness
takes many forms. Opposite the Harper
4 crew, a group of gentlemen in sun
glasses numerically rate the Nebraska
drill team a la diving scores. And fol
lowing fouls against the Huskers,
another student, dressed in referee
regalia, dark glasses and a cane, comi
cally trips his way behind the scorer's
table.
There is no nickname for the floral
print entourage, Hanke and Koenig
said. All that ties them together is their
spirit for Nebraska basketball, and the
fact that center Dave Hoppen and
guard Harvey Marshall once lived on
Harper 4. And like the players they
once lived with, the fans have goals of
bettering their performance, Hanke
said. Making the Sports Center an
unbearable place for other basketball
teams to visit is one of them.
"This sports center has the potential
to be the worst place for teams to come
to," Koenig said.
Top: Steve Nelson gets into
the basketball spirit during
the men's game Saturday,
fans cheer the Huskers on
the sidelines.
Photos by
Mark Davis
and Andrea Hoy
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