Oklahoma State is hoping to revive the rowdy this season.
OSU has had a rough few years, but Steve Lutz is hoping to change things as he enters his second season with the Cowboys. After an offseason filled with transfer portal madness, the Cowboys appear to have one of their best teams in quite some time, but they need their fans behind them to reach their full potential.
In Tuesday’s matchup against Oral Roberts, OSU had a solid crowd, with a curtain partially covering the upper bowl. While the attendance might not have looked as great with more room for the crowd to spread out, the Cowboys had an atmosphere that was certainly better than the average nonconference environment in recent years.
After the win, Lutz noted that he liked the curtain and the more intimate feeling it gave. While Gallagher-Iba Arena was once known for its rowdiness, that has changed in recent years and this could be a solution to that problem.
Although it was an encouraging sign to see a solid crowd against ORU, the Cowboys would love to see a much larger and engaged crowd on Sunday. Of course, this weekend, the Cowboys will be welcoming Texas A&M to town as one of the several premier nonconference matchups on the slate for the Pokes this season.
A projected bubble team this season, the Aggies could give the Cowboys a great early-season test. With such an intriguing game this early in the year, the Cowboys will need to take full advantage of having the game in Stillwater, which means fans will have to show up.
Of course, that might not be easy to accomplish. Over the past few years, OSU has consistently been a losing program. While winning solves everything in sports, the Cowboys haven’t done that winning yet, even if this season looks incredibly promising.
If fans show up for the hope of Lutz’s second year being the one that turns things around, it will be a great indication of where Cowboy basketball is at. On the other hand, if the Pokes only see a similar crowd to the season opener against ORU, it might be a sign that the winning has to come before the support, even for the “loyal and true.”
In any case, OSU’s matchup with Texas A&M will be huge for the Cowboys’ hopes of making the NCAA Tournament, and there’s a chance that playing in Gallagher-Iba could make all the difference.