ZAGmania Soothes the
Winter Blues
By ZAGmaniac Marianne
Love
for Sandpoint Magazine Winter Edition
Within minutes of setting
foot in the United States for a student exchange with local host parents, Will
and Debbie Love, Switzerland’s Laura Schmid learned two essential words for
getting along with her new family.
“Go ZahhhhhgS.” she uttered in a barely
audible, tentative tone, while heading to Sandpoint in August, 2014.
Before returning to
Switzerland six months later, Schmid knew the drill. She owned Gonzaga Bulldog apparel and had
worn it to a ZAGS game, sitting just above the team in the Bulldog Kennel at McArthey
Athletic Complex.
Twice weekly, along with
her extended family of ZAGmaniacs aka Love’s and Tibbses, she sat in in front
of TVs getting acquainted with coach Mark Few’s men’s Bulldogs while munching
on sumptuous, often theme-oriented ZAGS-game lap meals. She learned of ZAGS past
successes, including their No. 1 ranking and 17 consecutive trips to NCAA
tournaments.
With time, she could
easily shout out an emphatic, very audible “GO ZAGS!!!”
Schmid experienced a full-fledged
indoctrination into a contagious seasonal epidemic aka fanaticism that consumes
her hosts and countless other area families
from late October to (hopefully) April.
Though it has no official
name, ZAGmania seems an appropriate moniker for the seasonal obsession many
locals consider the perfect antidote to winter blues.
Symptoms vary.
Some fans’ homes are almost
completely wallpapered with several years’ worth of Zags team and “Go ZAGS”
posters. In other homes, fans follow unwritten but clearly understood gag
orders during games, subtlely outlawing non-ZAG-oriented conversation.
Yelling “YES!” and
pounding on fellow ZAG fanatics after baskets---definitely allowed.
Retirees Carrie and Roy Jacobson follow a
slight modification of the above.
“It’s a ‘Do not disturb
mode’ while we watch,” Carrie says.
Meanwhile, Rose Greene
and her parents, Lisa and Dale, practice strict rituals for each game.
“I wear one of my Zag
jerseys (I have three) and always take my Zag pillow, blanket and lucky
keychain,” Rose explains. “My mom always puts a Zag rug in front of the TV and
makes sure that our Spike bobblehead is watching the TV. We touch his head before each game.”
Sometimes, other fans like
Tim and Connie Rosco (Connie’s feet sweat during nail-biter ZAG games)
embarrass themselves publicly by thinking of “their” ZAGS as center of the
universe.
“We found out the hard
way that you don't cheer for the Zags when you are in a Red Robin restaurant in
Bend, Ore., while they are playing against Arizona!” Tim recalls. “It was the
2nd round of the 2003 NCAA tournament. GU lost in double overtime 95 to 96. A
great game, but we were 2 out of 100 people there [cheering] for the Zags. It
was impossible for us to not be cheering them on and loudly.”
And, then there are
“religious fans,” like 83-year-old retired teacher and devout Catholic Lasean
Driggs.
“I have a red [ZAGS}
sweatshirt and blue long-sleeved [ZAGS] shirt,” Driggs, a member of St.
Joseph’s parish, says, “I often wear them to church . . . as I greet at church
before masses, I compliment anyone wearing ZAGS apparel. Sometimes we talk
about the game played the night before.”
Lasean says she does not
pray for the ZAGS to win, although “I might cross my fingers at free throws . .
. .”
So why such adoration
toward one team?
Locals do avidly support
other regional athletic teams, but with the ZAGS, it seems that unifying
passions prevail.
“It’s a small market that
plays big-time basketball,” says retired educator Tim Ross, who not only
follows the ZAGS but also has nearly 30 years of attending NCAA tournaments
under his belt. “We like the ZAGS because they [generally] keep their players
for four years, and you get to know the team . . . we almost know them as
family.”
Colorado transplants Lynn
and Marcy Wise, avid followers of both GU men and women’s basketball teams,
credit the coaching staffs.
“They don’t cheat,” Marcy
says. “The program is run well. They
recruit good people and make good men and women out of them.” Marcy Wise wears ZAGS gear “24-7” and happily
gets distracted talking about her favorite team. Once the season starts, she
spends the bulk of her days posting on the Gonzaga University message boards as
“ZAG Grannie.”
“I usually start with
Craziness in the Kennel,” she explains. “I carry that all through the season,
posting lots of pictures and comments, and starting separate threads for Vegas
and the NCAA tourney games.”
The couple manages to
attend 12-14 games a year, thanks to their membership in the Bulldog Club. A $250 donation enables members to purchase
whatever extra tickets are available after students, staff and season ticket
holders’ seats are guaranteed.
Sometimes
opposing teams do not use their allotment, opening up the extras.
Other fans score seats,
thanks to what diehard fan Kim Puckett calls “trickle-down tickets,” obtained
by “knowing someone.” These opportunities
occur whenever generous season ticket holders don’t attend every single home
game and share the wealth.
Still others attend games
for a variety of price tags by watching for tickets on E-Bay, Craig’s List or
social media.
There is no cure for the
annual onset of ZAGmania among fans watching from home or in the Kennel, and
that’s perfectly okay with those afflicted.
When ZAG games begin each
fall, they simply say, “Bring on the insanity!”
Toward winter’s end when
that bittersweet day comes, marking the ZAG’s final loss---hopefully in the
NCAA Tournament--- fans like Tim Ross and educator Laurie Tibbs exemplify typical
reactions.
The ZAGS T-shirt goes
back in the drawer until fall at Ross’s home, while, after the final buzzer, Tibbs
simply sits back in her chair, sighs, praises the team and then announces,
“Okay, it’s spring; time to move on to outdoor projects.”
Once more the ZAGS have
done their job.
For more information about the
Bulldog Club or securing tickets, visit the following:
AND, THE BEST PART, THE JOB IS NOT YET COMPLETED. DANCE ON, ZAGS! CONGRATULATIONS ON A GREAT VICTORY OVER SETON HALL LAST NIGHT!!!
Next game: Saturday, 5:30 p.m. PDT. ZAGS vs. Utah Utes on TNT.
Next game: Saturday, 5:30 p.m. PDT. ZAGS vs. Utah Utes on TNT.
To see this story and others in the current edition of Sandpoint Magazine, pick up a copy around town if you're local or visit the following link.
http://sandpointmagazine.com/issue/winter-2016/
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