Post by Rogobob77 on May 13, 2020 22:16:20 GMT -5
Does anyone remember a group of University of Detroit students who were known collectively as “the Blatant Boys”? I have vague memories of the group from my first year at U-D, 1973-74. The guys (my recollection is it was an all male contingent) were a regular staple at Titan basketball games during the initial year of Dick Vitale’s college coaching reign. The Blatant Boys would generally sit in the bleachers directly behind the visiting team’s bench and cause all kinds of havoc— shouting obnoxious things at the opposition, banging metal pots and pans, that sort of thing. It is my understanding that they were a carryover of an unofficial student spirit group from the Harding era (the former Titan coach, not the U.S. President), perhaps even prior to that.
I recall hearing reports that U-M’s Johnny Orr and Marquette’s Al McGuire were so upset with the treatment they received from the Blatant Boys that they threatened to never return to the Memorial Building again. (For the record, I don’t think the MBB Wolverines have played on the UDM campus court since that 1973 game.)
The situation had gotten so bad that it resulted in a proposal developed by the Athletic Department to remove the entire east side bleacher section from the arena. In a Varsity News article dated September 17, 1974, Athletic Director Bob Calihan said “Unfortunately, a few students have caused problems for visiting coaches. Several schools have contacted myself or Fr. Carron, threatening to cancel their contracts if some action weren’t taken.“ A later VN article, from November 5, 1974, identified three specific schools that filed written complaints: Loyola, Southern Illinois, and Xavier.
Several student groups raised objections to the plan of shutting down a significant chunk of the bleachers, and the proposal was eventually scrapped (although some bleacher seating was removed to create the press row and stats crew area in the center section that remains to this day). Part of the pitch, according to the Varsity News (Nov. 5 article), was a pledge by student representatives to “do what they could to discourage students from interfering with the game.”
In a VN article dated November 12, 1974, the compromise plan was reported. “The point that has to be emphasized is that there must be an improvement of the sportsmanship of the student body during the games,” David Siefert, Sports Information Director at the time was quoted as saying. “We hope that students will cooperate so that we will be able to keep seating this way.”
I’m guessing that all this led to the demise of the Blatant Boys.
I recall hearing reports that U-M’s Johnny Orr and Marquette’s Al McGuire were so upset with the treatment they received from the Blatant Boys that they threatened to never return to the Memorial Building again. (For the record, I don’t think the MBB Wolverines have played on the UDM campus court since that 1973 game.)
The situation had gotten so bad that it resulted in a proposal developed by the Athletic Department to remove the entire east side bleacher section from the arena. In a Varsity News article dated September 17, 1974, Athletic Director Bob Calihan said “Unfortunately, a few students have caused problems for visiting coaches. Several schools have contacted myself or Fr. Carron, threatening to cancel their contracts if some action weren’t taken.“ A later VN article, from November 5, 1974, identified three specific schools that filed written complaints: Loyola, Southern Illinois, and Xavier.
Several student groups raised objections to the plan of shutting down a significant chunk of the bleachers, and the proposal was eventually scrapped (although some bleacher seating was removed to create the press row and stats crew area in the center section that remains to this day). Part of the pitch, according to the Varsity News (Nov. 5 article), was a pledge by student representatives to “do what they could to discourage students from interfering with the game.”
In a VN article dated November 12, 1974, the compromise plan was reported. “The point that has to be emphasized is that there must be an improvement of the sportsmanship of the student body during the games,” David Siefert, Sports Information Director at the time was quoted as saying. “We hope that students will cooperate so that we will be able to keep seating this way.”
I’m guessing that all this led to the demise of the Blatant Boys.