I know i've said this before, but it's so embarrassing trying to get a chant going in the student section and nobody past the first 3 rows says anything. Its very frustrating; i feel like everybody behind the first three rows either doesn't know anything about basketball or just doesn't care. In either case, things need to change. And yes, I am calling people out in the student section who never say anything. BTW, I want to extend an invitation to Mrs. Smith to come over to the barnyard's first 3 rows to hang out with the real fans.
If you had gotten people to start singing "I'm a little tea pot short and stout" whenever Valentine touched the ball, I would have joined in. A little creativity goes a long way. Beef Stroganoff does not count.
And by the way, just because someone doesn't feel like chanting when we are up 20 in a meaningless game, doesn't mean they know nothing about basketball. It means they know a lot about basketball. It doesn't mean they don't care, it means they care the right amount. If you thought you were going to Duke, I can see why you are frustrated.
On a productive note, if you really want more people involved in the student section, spread out. You all have created your little "super fan bubble" and send a signal, unintentional or not, that you up front got the cheering covered. Try this during the Virginia game, and be pleasantly surprised, or if it doesn't work, try something else. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results doesn't make a lick of sense, and you should know that.
In short, you perpetuate the bystander effect. People think it is the job of the people in the front row to be loud, and it is their job to cheer when they feel like it. If you spread out, and keep chanting, people will join in, because they will understand it is their job to be loud regardless of where they are sitting. At the schools known for the student section, the superfans are everywhere, so start being every where.
Of course, you might not be able to sit right next to your buddies, you won't have your front row seat, and you won't be on TV as much. But you will have a more enthusiastic and consistently loud student section. If you want the rest of the student section to be loud, join the rest of the student section and make it happen.
There are plenty of people that can sit down and front and mock the other team. There are not enough people that are willing to wade into the rest of the student section (behind the band especially and the far side from you all) and actually lead. Be a leader, step up, and create this. The student section has slipped since the good old days, and you can bring it back. I've got my little nook of the student section covered, and we aren't afraid to yell.
But if you want the back left corner involved, put two guys there and get them involved. If you want the section right behind the cheer leaders and next to the band to be loud, put your 4 or five loudest guys there. If you want the folks just under the over hang involved, put someone in the middle of each section just under the over hang.
I understand the capitalist reasoning of having the "best" fans in the "best seats," but when you do that there is a lot of open space with no one taking the initiative to be loud and to lead the occasionally more conservative cheerers. You have a lot of people in the student section who are ready to act like idiots (in a good way) and they are just looking for a catalyst. Its time for the super fans to take one for the team, and start covering the real estate.