Win or lose, the Pit Crew keeps Mac Court shaking for the Ducks

By Maria Sceva

After slamming down a dunk against California, sophomore Ray Schafer heads to the bench for a break. As he sits down, he spots a fan in the crowd still cheering for him, so he points to the fan in acknowledgment and gives a little wink.

Ray Schafer has become a crowd favorite after earning more playing time over the last two seasons. (Photo courtesy of Mary Curran)

This kind of fan interaction is typical between the students of the Pit Crew and the Oregon men’s basketball team. The Pit Crew is the name for the courtside student section at UO men’s basketball games. Students in the Pit jump, scream, chant, clap, cheer, taunt, and heckle in an effort to support the Ducks and keep opponents on edge and off their game. While the entire student section is made up of up to 2,000 students, roughly 1,000 students make up the Pit Crew. They are the students who come early to the game designated as “Distribution Day” to get their Pit Crew shirt, which usually takes place early in the pre-season schedule.

For the 2005-06 season a different approach was taken. Wristbands were distributed to students on the day practice officially opened in October. Students then had to come back to Mac Court that evening for “Midnight Madness,” which actually took place at 9 p.m. because of an ESPNU live broadcast. ESPNU – the college sports version of ESPN –chose to feature the opening night of practice for Oregon and four other schools— Kansas, Kentucky, Memphis, and Michigan State. Students who arrived at Mac Court early with the wristband received a Pit Crew shirt.

After the chaos of the distribution, students headed to their seats. Once inside, with Pit Crew shirts in hand, students participated in contests, a quiz show about current and former players, and a number of students even allowed senior Brandon Lincoln and junior Aaron Brooks to shave their heads in the middle of the court. Little did they know they’d be walking off the court with half a head of hair left, since time ran out before the entire head could be completed. When all the games were done, it was time to give the fans what they wanted— a first look at the team. The crowd, decked out in yellow, picked up right where it left off at the end of the previous season, cheering loudly for their team.

See highlights of the Pit Crew in action The Pit Crew reacts to a great play

The bright yellow Pit Crew shirt, which changes in design every year, allows those with a student ticket and ID to get through the doors of McArthur Court 10 minutes before doors open for the general public. This gives students the opportunity to sit in the seats on the floor section, as close to the action as one can get. Pit Crew shirts have become a hot commodity over the years. Students who have missed out on receiving a shirt have been known to offer more than $50 to anyone willing to part with theirs. This floor section is not reserved only for those with the Pit Crew shirts. Any student who gets to the game before the section fills up is free to sit there, and many do.

Sitting in the section reserved for students in the first balcony is just as important in the support and distraction of teams as being on the floor. Those students yell and chant like the rest of the Pit Crew, but there’s no jumping and stomping. Occasionally, the students sitting in this balcony section will stand up to stomp and cheer. It just doesn't happen often because the architecture of Mac Court – the balconies are stacked straight up) makes it difficult to see from the upper part of the section, especially if everyone below is standing up. Because the section is directly behind the backboard, the students there help cause a commotion during opponents' free-throw attempts by waving whatever they have – hands, shirts, towels, or the yellow foam strips known as “Duckaroni.”

Section 10 is the main section for the Pit Crew. The students fill up the section first and are usually the most rowdy bunch in Mac Court. (Photo courtesy of Kali Baker)

When the doors open before a game, there is always a mad dash for seats. Students want to sit as close to the floor as possible. “I’ve never sat higher than the second row,” said Kali Baker, a senior and four-year member of the Pit Crew. “My spot is in the front row, where I can feel the floor shake.” Baker is now the president of the Pit Crew administration, which is the small group of students in charge of organizing the shirt distribution, the Pit Crew Post, the newsletter passed out to students at games with information about opposing teams, as well as a free 3-on-3 basketball tournament for students to keep them involved and pumped up for basketball all year long.

Baker has seen a change in the Pit Crew over the last four years. “Kids used to wait in line for hours before a game, even sleep outside sometimes,” she said. “It was always a fight to get through the door first, to get your ticket punched and get in to get the best seats. Now that doesn’t happen.” The main reason for this lack of urgency has to do with the team’s record. Over the past four years the team has gone from a 26-10 record and a berth in the NCAA tournament in the 2002-03 season to the 2004-05 season record of 14-13 and failing to even make the Pac-10 Conference tournament. The Ducks improved slightly in the 2005-06 season, finishing with a 15-18 record and making an impressive run at the Pac-10 Conference tournament, knocking off Washington State and Washington before falling to California in double overtime.

Students sitting in the front row often get a visit from the Oregon Duck mascot. The Duck has been known to crowd-surf in the Pit at times too. (Photo courtesy of Oregon Sports Network)

For many students, the game is more important than the record, and so they keep coming. For many, it is even more important for fans to stay supportive this season, when the Ducks have been so close in so many games. “I think it is important to support those kids,” UO senior Mike Rose said, “They go out there and play hard and put it on the line every night... Our kids are just young, and maybe if the crowd is going it'll help those young guys get over the hump and pull out those close games.”

Rose is one of the many students to participate in the pre-game tunnel to help pump up the players. While the team is down in the locker room just before the game, members of the Pit Crew head down to line up outside the locker room and up the stairs back out toward the court. Students get rowdy, pound on the door, and chant, “Let’s go, Ducks.” A couple of students even give short speeches about the upcoming game, the opponent, and the outcome to help get the students more into the game as well. When the locker room door finally opens, the students quiet down as the team comes together for the final moment.

With the moment of silence is over, the students again get crazy as the team heads up to the court. “Good luck, man,” “Go get ‘em,” and “Let’s go” can all be heard as students high-five players or pat them on the back as they head upstairs. The Oregon fight song is playing, the crowd is on their feet and clapping as the team makes it to the court and the students of the tunnel make their way back to their seats.

Chamberlain 'Champ' Oguchi pumps up the Pit with his tenacious defense and long-range 3-pointers. (Photo courtesy of Mary Curran)

This fan interaction helps motivate the players for the game. And during the game, players continue to interact with the fans. Chamberlain Oguchi will hit a big shot, look to the crowd and pump his arms, urging the crowd to get up and get excited. Oguchi plays to the crowd more than most players on the team, and his energy and confidence get the students into the game no matter what the score is.

The ultimate player-fan interaction comes during the final home game of the season, when the team’s seniors are honored. Before the game, the seniors are brought to the court with their families as a tribute to the time and energy they have put into the program throughout their time at Oregon. Members of the Pit Crew administration present each senior with a framed Pit Crew shirt that has been signed by members of the Pit Crew with words of encouragement for the future and thanks for the memories. As the presentation winds down, the Pit Crew breaks out in a chant of “Thank you, seniors!”

As the seniors step off the court for the final time, the chant takes over the crowd again. All 9,087 fans in attendance give the seniors a standing ovation to honor their careers at Oregon. It is a touching moment that brings everybody back to what is really important, the game.