Fresno State Athletics
!["I usually never talk back to the crowd ... [they] were yelling all kinds of things and when I hit a jumper I just yelled, `All night long, all night long!' It's just one of those things where you feed off the crowd's bad energy."](https://images.sidearmdev.com/resize?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net%2Fsidearm.nextgen.sites%2Fgobulldogs.com%2Fimages%2F2002%2F1%2F25%2Fa-felix1-122001.jpg&height=300&type=webp)
Crowd Control: Noel Felix
1/25/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 25, 2002
FRESNO, Calif. - Playing on the road can be one of the toughest tasks for teams. As all of Fresno State's 2001-02 opponents have found out, playing at Selland Arena usually produces much heartbreak. For junior forward Noel Felix, the memories of road games have been bitter sweet. He knows how hard it is to play on the road and how sweet the rewards are for beating an opponent on its home floor.
There are two factors that contribute to the toughness of opponent's arena. The first factor is the officiating and the second, and most pivotal, is the crowd. Officiating over the years has tended to be more lenient towards the home team.
"I think during close games officiating can sometimes dictate the outcome. Against Rice at Selland Arena we got a crucial call at the end. It's just something you have to take into account," Felix said.
The biggest factor, however, is the crowd. The crowd, sometimes referred to as the sixth man, is expected to be loud at games. What is sometimes not expected and is a frequent occurrence at basketball games is the personal heckling that goes on with fans to players.
The players at visiting arenas can sometimes hear the most unexpected comments. Noel Felix recalls a certain instance when former teammate Larry Abney was heckled at a visiting arena. "It was a WAC game and Abney and his girlfriend had just broken up. I don't know how the crowd knew, but they kept yelling his girlfriend's name and yelling stuff at Abney. It was mean and funny at the same time. Even we were laughing," Felix recalled.
With the personal comments that go on during games it's hard for the players to refrain from talking back to the fans. There are no specific rules that prohibit players from talking back to the crowd, but it is generally understood that it's not beneficial to get into it with the fans. One of the best feelings for visiting players is to silence the crowd. A three-pointer, a three-point play, or a dunk is usually quick silence buttons that a player can press to silence the crowd for a moment.
Sometimes, however, in the heat of the battle players may gesture to the crowd. Noel Felix relishes in silencing the home crowd on an opponent's floor. Hitting the big shot down the stretch or simply draining one when the crowd is yelling for you to miss it always pumps up a player.
"I usually never talk back to the crowd, but I remember we were at Hawai'i for a game and the crowd can get pretty nasty over there. The were yelling all kinds of things and when I hit a jumper I just yelled, 'All night long, all night long!' It's just one of those things where you feed off the crowd's bad energy," Felix described.
This season Fresno State has had travel to two of the toughest arenas in the country. The Bulldogs played back-to-back road games at San Diego State and at Cal. Both arenas are notorious for having rowdy crowds and this time around was no different. The Bulldogs were without Melvin Ely for both contests and dropped both games.
"Against San Diego State, they were yelling stuff to Melvin about the suspension and after the game the fans rushed the court. It gets crazy after the games sometimes. We just get out of there as quick as possible," Felix explained.
The Cal fans went deeper in their research for heckling tactics. They not only gave their shares of 'boos' and 'you suck' comments, but also took Felix back to his high school days. Fresno State defeated Cal in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season, so the Golden Bears and fans were eager to repay the Bulldogs.
"Against Cal, I heard people yelling at me about how my high school lost in the state championships. We played a bay area school when I was in high school and they kept yelling how I was no good back then and how they beat us," Felix recalled.
One way to deal with crowd control is simply to take them out early. If a team builds a big lead early the crowd never gets into the game in it almost seems like a neutral site. Last season the Bulldogs were coming off a disappointing loss to Saint Bonaventure at home and then had to travel to North Carolina State. The Bulldogs turned a hostile environment into a second home by building a big first half lead and never looking back.
"Against N.C. State last season, it was over in the first half. Those games are always good because you stun the crowd early and they can't say anything when you're beating them by that much," Felix said.
Crowd control is something that players grow accustomed to as they mature as basketball players. For a player like Felix, who attended Inglewood High School, the maturing process starts at the high school level. He has been around hostile crowds many times and as the Bulldogs continue with their season, you can bet more visiting crowds await with more comments to spout. It's part of the game and sometimes a part of the game players like.
