The Curtain of Distraction
March 9, 2015 7:36 AM   Subscribe

Imagine if you will: a curtain is pulled back just to the left of the basketball goal, and two unicorns are there aggressively making out. Perhaps they’re wearing tutus. Meanwhile, you are supposed to be making your free throws, or getting ready to rebound a missed free throw. You must be playing a basketball game at Arizona State, for that is the Curtain of Distraction (warning: auto-playing video).

The University, the team, and the players all think it works, and the Harvard College Sports Analysis Collective (HSAC) thinks so, too: “The Curtain of Distraction is worth approximately 1.41 points per game." ASU thinks its worth even more - not only in points saved (they estimate 2.5), but in raising the profile of the program, and increasing student attachment to the team.

There are rules of course. One of the founders writes that “Participants of the Curtain of Distraction are members of the 942 Crew and various other students attending ASU. The people performing the skits must comply with NCAA rules. No curtain acts include artificial noisemakers or involve any type of physical contact with shooters on the line. It is a visual and mental distraction. What it comes down to is how well the shooter is trained.”

But does it really work? Daniel Engber of Slate, who has spent some time crunching free throw data, is a little skeptical.

But you are really here for montages of the antics, aren’t you? ESPN’s profile of the Curtain of Distraction and ASU highlights from the games, including against Colgate
posted by julen (11 comments total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
Steeeve Perry...
posted by Etrigan at 7:43 AM on March 9, 2015


It's inappropriate to make any noise while an opposing team's player shoots free shows. Fans should sit on their hands quietly until after she shoots.
posted by mrgrimm at 7:43 AM on March 9, 2015


Great idea because people at college basketball games aren't hyped up enough you need something to wake em up.

(Jk, this is fun)
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:44 AM on March 9, 2015


mrgrimm: "It's inappropriate to make any noise while an opposing team's player shoots free shows. Fans should sit on their hands quietly until after she shoots."

I once attended a reneactment of the first women's basketball game, and the ref told us exactly that before they kicked off the excessively half-court-style ladylike game. They didn't have technical fouls then, but the crowd still got one for the doing the wave.
posted by julen at 7:50 AM on March 9, 2015 [3 favorites]


I can't wait to see this at a golf match!
posted by CrowGoat at 7:55 AM on March 9, 2015 [1 favorite]


First, no offense to Colgate, but if a Pac-12 team needs the curtain against Colgate, what they really need is to recruit better players. Second, from the videos, the goal is laudable; that is, to increase student attendance. If there are 942 student seats in the student section (really? that is all?) there appear to be about 900 available seats still. Tempe has great weather and all, but what are the students doing that they won't even attend a D-1, Pac-12 game?

Having said all that, I applaud the students and athletic department administrator for their creativity, humor and involvement.

Personally, I never really got the whole "miss it" concept. Rather, I would prefer to cheer for great offensive and defensive plays by my team and to encourage my team when they need a momentum shift. This is at a live game mind you. At home, I am known to curse at my team's bone headed plays, their inability to score and general patheticness.
posted by 724A at 8:03 AM on March 9, 2015 [2 favorites]


I was a baseball catcher as a youth. Sometimes when a batter whiffed on a pitch I would show him the ball and say something along the lines of "This what you're looking for?" Distraction works on some players.
posted by CincyBlues at 9:08 AM on March 9, 2015


When my wife and I lived closer to campus we would regularly attend UT baseball games. A group of 50 to 100 comedians known as The Wild Bunch were always ensconced behind the visiting dugout. We sat near them so we wouldn't miss anything. They gave the visiting players and the umps hell for the entire game. They had quite a repertoire. Every visitor warm-up swing was accompanied with a "whoosh". When the umps took the field before the game they would break out their kazoos and play Three Blind Mice. One particularly rotund ump would get his own individual Baby Elephant Walk tribute. And if the visiting coach was giving a pep talk for a rally they played the theme from Mission Impossible.

When Frank Erwin, chairman of the Board of Regents and known for DWI problems was in attendance, they went after him as well. After five innings they would stand and pantomime draining a bottle of whiskey. Then they would turn towards Frank and shout, "Hey Frank! It's the bottom of the fifth!" To his credit, he laughed harder than anyone.

But I think my favorite was Beast. He was a wild-eyed shaggy guy behind the backstop who probably didn't have both oars in the water. Whenever a foul tip hung in the netting the Wild Bunch would start chanting, "BEAST! BEAST! BEAST!" Beast would leap onto the chain link and scale it like some crazed simian to retrieve the ball. I'm not sure what he did with the ball afterwards but he probably ate it...
posted by jim in austin at 9:57 AM on March 9, 2015


OH recently: "What are you yelling, 'Noonan'? What does that even mean?"
posted by ctmf at 12:13 PM on March 9, 2015


Great idea because people at college basketball games aren't hyped up enough you need something to wake em up.

posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:44 AM on March 9 [+] [!]

I went to ASU in the mid 90's. Student section tickets were $12 for the season. The games I went to I would estimate the attendance averaged about 20% of capacity. This was a team that went 3 rounds into the NCAA tournament and couldn't draw a crowd to save its life.

Watching the video I was amazed at the crowd turnout. Actually, amazed doesn't do it justice.

Good for them that they found something to get kids into the seats, even if that arena should have been replaced 30 years ago.
posted by efalk at 12:45 PM on March 9, 2015


Tempe has great weather and all, but what are the students doing that they won't even attend a D-1, Pac-12 game?

Making some art? Lying in the grass? Making out? Studying? Swimming?

Lemme tell you, I grew up a HUGE fan of spectator sports, and I still follow baseball and basketball pretty closely, and I even coached high school soccer and basketball, but man, I feel like I wasted WAY too much of my life watching sports. (I went to every single D-1 PAC-12 home basketball game at my school, fwiw.)

Now that I have kids, I'm thinking of skipping organized sports completely. There are so many better things to do.
posted by mrgrimm at 11:42 AM on March 17, 2015


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