On Nov. 5, Grizz Gang held its first pep rally to get Oakland students excited for the upcoming basketball season. There were performances by Oakland’s cheer and dance team followed by talks with the women’s head basketball coach Jeff Tungate and men’s head coach Greg Kampe.

Kampe got the student section riled up by telling the story of how, for a period of time in the late 2000s, the Grizzlies had a run of 52-2 at home. The O’rena only seats 4,000 and the average attendance during the 2008 season was 4,025.

“If you fit 4,000 people in here it will be so much louder than a place that seats 8,000 people,” junior Christian Little, vice president of Grizz Gang, said, “Because it is so small and condensed. It gets in everyone’s head except for ours, and it gets in ours in a positive way.”

The Grizz Gang, in junior Jacob Little’s words, is “the student section on campus and we go crazy. We give everybody that comes in here a run for their money, we get in their heads and that makes it hard for them to win here.” 

Jacob is the marketing representative of the Grizz Gang. The Grizz Gang tries to attend every sporting event. Basketball is the most popular.

“It all depends on schedules,” Christian explained. “A lot of people don’t have good schedules to go to all the games, but basketball fits in much better because it’s at night and we are really really good.”

The Grizz Gang, using the incentive of free pizza, invited everyone to the O’rena to practice some basketball cheers and chants. The purpose of the pep rally was to show how serious and excited the Grizz Gang is for this upcoming basketball season. 

Kampe himself said “this may be the best team I have ever coached.” Coming from the third longest reigning coach in NCAA history, that is a powerful statement to make.

The pep rally was also used to motivate and excite students to come out and support all of the Oakland teams, according to Little.

“Grizz Gang is just trying to support all of the athletes, not just basketball. And we want to encourage involvement around campus,” Little said. “I know a lot of people go home on the weekends or sit in their rooms. I don’t want that. I want people to come out and have fun and to lose their voices with me.”

The renovations of the O’rena will provide a positive impact on the Grizz Gang and the game experience. New lights, speakers and the famous blacktop will all give players the home court advantage and the Grizz Gang a louder voice. All of the renovations were driven by the athletic department, however, they were also student driven. According to Christian, the athletic department leaves their office doors open for students to come forward with suggestions.

“I know people go to Oregon for their gear with Nike, so why wouldn’t you want to come here and play on the blacktop, the only one in the country,” Little said. “This year we wanted to do themed games and the athletic department was like ‘let’s do it.’ Everything that athletics has done is surrounded by students.” 

One idea for a theme day that Kampe fully supports is a white out. Kampe believes that if we get 4,000-plus people in the O’rena in white with the black top “we will be all over twitter.”

The executive board of Grizz Gang consists of five members, with the Little brothers accounting for two of those members. However, both Little brothers agree that when anyone steps into the O’rena, they are part of the Grizz Gang family.

“You step into the O’rena and you’re Grizz Gang,” Little said. “You don’t have to wear a Grizz Gang shirt, you don’t need to be on the E-board, you can sit in the back or sit in the front. As long as you sit in our section and scream your head off, you’re Grizz Gang.”