By Andrew Harris

Last week, Cody Heintz criticized the Hofstra student body for poor turnout at women’s basketball games, implicating the lack of support at softball and lacrosse games as well. The only group spared from Heintz’s over-arching accusation was Alpha Phi, who showed up to the February 19 game in large enough numbers to win two plane tickets as well as a $1,000 cash prize ($200 of which they generously donated to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund). Heintz failed to mention the many other clubs with members in attendance, including the Women’s Rugby team, who fell one member short of Alpha Phi’s total, not to mention the standard contingent of Hofstra super-fans who attend nearly every game. He also neglected to mention the fact that it was the most exciting and raucous game at the Mack since Charles Jenkins left the building. Luckily, Joe Pantorno was there to give it the kind of coverage it deserved (“the ball dropped through the cylinder and the Mack exploded,” he wrote).

This season has been a memorable one for the Pride, given the outstanding play of forward Shante Evans, the senior leadership exhibited by Guards Nicole Capurso and Candace Bellocchio, and the exciting spark-plug play of my personal favorite, Candace Bond, not to mention their superb record. Every game the first two rows of the student section are filled (a modest task, I know) but they serve to pump the Mack with energy. The players have responded accordingly. They appreciate the noise, feed off of it, and have ridden it to a high seed in the CAA tournament and a potential invitation to the big dance. If you need proof of their appreciation just check out the high-fives exchanged between the fans and the team after every game or the back and forth between super-fan @LauraBIGJohnson and coach Krista Kilburn-Stevesky or Nicole Capurso on Twitter, it’s quite entertaining. All season the fans have at least come out in strong support, if not in equal numbers to the men’s team’s Charles Jenkins heyday, but maybe it’s time for Heintz to reassess his expectations. Sadly, the Hofstra women don’t quite have the fan base that UConn does, but our home crowd rivals those of our CAA foes. As for softball and lacrosse: I’m sorry, Cody, but those sports don’t quite have the same draw of the other more popular teams. You can’t blame the Hofstra student body.

So, instead of printing crap like “only one club bothered to show up” and “the student section was empty, as it has been for pretty much all of this year,” why don’t you put your camera down, dust off your old Jenkins jersey (it doubles as a Capurso jersey), and join me and the rest of the student section in a spirited “H-O-F-S-T-R-A Hofstraaa!” to send the seniors off with a bang and give the team the send-off to the CAA tournament they deserve.