If you're a Villanova basketball fan, you bleed blue and white. The fight song is your alarm clock (OK -- maybe not, but you do know it), Jay Wright is more like"Bae Wright," Archie is your favorite person, your closet only has blue and white in it and you live and breathe for gameday. While some schools tailgate and go crazy for their football teams, at Villanova, our heart and soul is the basketball season, and there's something truly special about being part of the Nation. But being part of the Nation and being a Nova fan can be just as stressful as it is exciting, and games are probably more stress inducing than finals week. (I think I cried more when we lost in last year's Round of 32 than I did during first semester finals week -- which was kind of a lot.)
So here are 15 things that all Nationers do during a Villanova Basketball game. And to my Wildcats, thanks for being as fantastic as you are, and thanks for giving all of us something to believe in.
1. Throw your "V" up everywhere and all the time.
2. Make deals with basketball Gods that go something along the lines of this: "Dear Basketball Gods, if Archie makes this three, I'll do my ACS reading, go to bed instead of watching Netflix and eat a salad for lunch tomorrow."
3. Give Jay-Bae some props when he shows up well dressed and ready to impress, as per usual.
4. Sing the fight song, or whatever little you know of it.
5. Cry a little (lot) when someone misses a three..just like the piccolo girl
6. Scream when someone makes a three and throw your three sign (or hand...I don't really know what to call it) up.
@Kris Jenkins and his three-pointer from the logo on the court. That was beautiful.
7. Rapidly text all of your friends to root for Villanova, even if they think you score touchdowns instead of baskets.
Shout out to my high school group chat, thanks for always getting excited when Nova wins.
8. Cover yourself head to toe in Villanova gear.
9. Not study for your exams or do your homework so you can give 110% of your attention to the game.
Basketball > everything.
10. Do a little happy dance when Ochefu goes and dunks, making everyone else (on the other team, of course) just look incompetent.
11. If you're watching the game at home with friends or parents, you secretly wish they would stop talking, be quiet, and put their hands in the air during every free throw.
But you also low-key stop talking and put your hands in the air every time it happens.
12. If you're not at school or with other Villanova fans during games, you rapid text all of your Nova friends every time something good or bad happens.
The Nation that cheers (or cries) together, stays together.
13. Every time the Bench Mob does something great, you give them a little round of applause.
14. You get even more excited when the Bench Mob gets to play because not only does it mean we're up by at least 20, but also because it's the Bench Mob and who doesn't love them?
15. And last but not least, during every second of every game, you thank your lucky stars that you get to be part of the Nation, because if we're being honest, there's no other nation you want to be a part of other than the Nova Nation.
#GoCats.
