Wild and crazy guys: "White's Wackos" make their presence known at games

by KIRK D. LIGHTNER reporter

During men's basketball games at the Cam Henderson Center this season, Athletic Department officials and Thundering Herd coaches noticed five students being loud and acting crazy.

But they didn't punish them. Instead, they encouraged them.

Madison senior James Armstrong (front left) and Huntington senior Joe Potiare two of the founding members of "White's Wackos," a group of students who wear bright orange T-shirts and show their school spirit via their words and actions at men's basketball games at Cam Henderson Center. "We'll do anything to help energize the crowd," Armstrong said. Photo by Terri Blair

The result is White's Wackos.

"The idea of having something like this has been in the making for a while," said Todd Baxter, men's basketball administrative assistant.

"Other teams in the MAC already have something similar and we feel like we need to join in."

Another men's basketball administrative assistant, Matt Kerns, came up with the name.

"The main purpose of having this is to promote a crazy student atmosphere," Baxter said.

Those five students - Madison senior James Armstrong, Charleston sophomore Steve McMillion, Madison senior Chris McNeely, Huntington senior Joe Poti and Chapmanville freshman Scotty Ulbrich - had no idea their antics would lead to an official nickname.

Armstrong said Athletic Department officials called him at his apartment and told him about their idea to organize a group of students to show their team spirit and showcase their voice boxes.

"It sounded great," he said. "We'll do anything to help energize the crowd."

White's Wackos started with those five students, but has grown to about 20 since its formation.

The group is noticeable. Its members sit in Section 100 of the arena. They also wear bright orange "White's Wackos" T-shirts, which were printed by Ocean Graphics and provided by the Thundering Herd.

Although they do not have the synchronized bouncing or organized taunting of Duke's Cameron Crazies, White's Wackos do have some noticeable trends in their cheers.

One favorite chant - "I'm blind, I'm deaf and I want to be a ref" - can be heard when they disagree with an official's call.

That taunt was yelled several times Wednesday during the Thundering Herd's loss to Miami of Ohio, the third game since the group was organized.

It was Marshall's first loss at home this season.

"The Miami game was not a normal evening because we are missing some of our key people," Armstrong said. "I guess professors don't realize how important it is to let students out of night class to attend the games.

"The crowd was not as good at the Miami game as we would have hoped, considering we have not beaten them since re-entering the MAC Conference."

Still, White's Wackos made their presence known. As they cheered for Marshall, they took time out to shout jeers at the referees and opposing players.

At each game the students pick a player from the other team to concentrate on and make fun of throughout the night. Wednesday, it was RedHawks' center Mike Ensminger, who scored only five points but held Marshall center J.R. VanHoose to six points.

"We always pick out either their best player or just one who looks goofy and dumb," Ulbrich said. "This gives us something fun to do and it gets in their heads at the same time."

Going wild at sporting events is nothing new to the other members and McNeely, who was a raucous member of Scott High School's rambunctious student section known as "The Box" along with Armstrong and Ulbrich.

"We have been acting like this since high school," he said. "We love athletics and acting crazy, so this is great."

Poti added, "People think we are stupid for acting like we do, but they like it. They just say that because they don't have the guts to act crazy themselves."

White's Wackos want to get more students involved, but a lack of student attendance makes that difficult.

"We don't know why students don't come," McMillion said, "because this is fun and everyone seems to like it."

With four home games left, White's Wackos are eager to support the team, win or lose.

"Players need some support and excitement to play with," Ulbrich said. "The more of us that are at the games, the better."

Baxter agreed. "Hopefully this idea will catch on," he said. "We gave the idea to these guys and told to them to recruit people and we would continue to provide the free shirts."

The next home game is Thursday at 7 p.m. against Buffalo.

"The idea has been great," Ulbrich said, "but we just need some more people to come out and act crazy with us to help support the team."