The Bench

The Bench

The Bench is the student rooting section for the University of California men's basketball team. Located inside Haas Pavilion, The Bench holds up to 900 students who rowdily cheer on their California Golden Bears at home basketball games. Students who sit on The Bench receive an annual Bench t-shirt each year and continue to make Haas Pavilion one of the loudest basketball arenas in the Pacific Ten Conference [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/sioncampus/02/02/arena.eval.cal/index.html] . The Bench prides itself on standing the entire game and ensuring that the arena is a hostile place for any opposing team to play [http://calbears.cstv.com/trads/the-bench.html] .

History

Although exact dates are not known, the tradition of The Bench was drastically changed in October 2000 when renovations on Haas Pavilion were completed and put a row of portable chairs between the student section and the court. University officials called the move necessary for the protection of referees and players, but students were angry at the move because it further removed them from the action [http://www.dailycal.org/sharticle.php?id=3483] .

Heckling tactics

*The Victoria Prank - On March 4, 2006, The Bench undertook one of the most elaborate and successful basketball pranks in all of NCAA history. Weeks before the game between USC and Cal game began, a number of members of The Bench and the UC Rally Committee began instant message conversations USC's star Gabe Pruitt [http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2006/3/8/victoriapunksPruitt] . The Cal students posed as a UCLA coed named "Victoria" and convinced Pruitt to send pictures, phone numbers, and make a date after the game. During the game, The Bench began chanting "VIC-TOR-IA, VIC-TOR-IA" and completely destroyed Gabe Pruitt's game [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/sioncampus/02/02/arena.eval.cal/index.html] . He ended up shooting a dismal 3 for 13 from the field [http://www.dailytrojan.com/media/paper679/news/2006/03/08/Sports/Cals-Aim.Stunt.That.Duped.Pruitt.Shouldnt.Surprise.Any.Of.Us-1658964.shtml?norewrite200603161013&sourcedomain=www.dailytrojan.com&page=] .

*The Bench has become infamous for its "(Un)official Guide to Heckling," which is a student produced profile of the opposing team. The Guide highlights interests, facts, or other things that can easily be used to heckle the opposing team.

References

* [http://www.dailycal.org/sharticle.php?id=3483 The Daily Cal]
* [http://calbears.cstv.com/trads/the-bench.html Cal Athletics]
* [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/sioncampus/02/02/arena.eval.cal/index.html Sports Illustrated]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • the bench — a seat at the side of a sports field for coaches and players not taking part in a game. → but and ben the bench the office of judge or magistrate. → bench …   English new terms dictionary

  • the bench — index forum (court) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • The Bench (Film) — Infobox Film name = The Bench director = Alex McCormack producer = Robert Coombes writer = James Marks starring = Granville Finkle music = Joe Wretham cinematography = Daniel Hurley editing = Samy Haffar released = 2007 runtime = 9 minutes… …   Wikipedia

  • The Bench (Hogarth) — Infobox Painting title=The Bench artist=William Hogarth year=1758 museum=Fitzwilliam Museum city=Cambridge type=Oil on canvas height=14.5 width=18 height inch=5¼ width inch =7 The Bench is the title of both a 1758 oil on canvas painting by the… …   Wikipedia

  • on the bench — 1. Sitting in a law court as a judge. * /Judge Wyzanski is on the bench this morning./ 2. Sitting among the substitute players. * /The coach had to keep his star player on the bench with a sprained ankle./ Compare: BENCH WARMER …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • on the bench — 1. Sitting in a law court as a judge. * /Judge Wyzanski is on the bench this morning./ 2. Sitting among the substitute players. * /The coach had to keep his star player on the bench with a sprained ankle./ Compare: BENCH WARMER …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • warm the bench — {v. phr.}, {informal} To act as a substitute on an athletic team. * /Bill has been warming the bench for three football seasons; he hopes that the coach will let him play this year./ [bench warmer] {n.}, {informal} A substitute player. * /Last… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • warm the bench — {v. phr.}, {informal} To act as a substitute on an athletic team. * /Bill has been warming the bench for three football seasons; he hopes that the coach will let him play this year./ [bench warmer] {n.}, {informal} A substitute player. * /Last… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • On The Bench — infobox television show name = On The Bench! runtime = 30 Minutes creator = Tegan Summer starring = Sabra Williams country = United States network = Setanta Sports picture format = 1080i first aired = March 14, 2008 | last aired = April 18, 2008… …   Wikipedia

  • On the Bench — On the Bench! Created by Tegan Summer Starring Sabra Williams Country of origin …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”