The Stamford High Boys Basketball Team pulled off an epic upset complete with alley-oop dunks, half court shots, and a dramatic 16-0 fourth quarter run to defeat the previously 16th-in-the-state-ranked Westhill Vikings 62-49. Unfortunately, a large portion of Black Knight Nation was not in attendance, not because of lack of support but because they were forcefully kept out of the gym. Fans who showed up just after the start of the game and even some who arrived prior were outraged when cops at the doors informed them that the game was “sold out” a phrase quite alien to Stamford sports and their fans seeing as there are no defined seats in the gymnasiums, nor a specific number of tickets to be sold.

When asked why the kids were being denied viewership of this masterpiece of a game, the cops stated that it was a “fire code violation” and assured them it was not in their control. Yet as countless audience members exited the gymnasium both at halftime and sporadically throughout the game, the cops held their ground refusing to allow even one student to enter. Fans from inside the game remarked upon how much room there actually was, especially once halftime rolled around. Junior, and JV basketball player John Cascio, or “jprime” as many know him, admitted, “It was very crowded;” but went on to say, “There were plenty of empty seats for tons of people.” One woman who was leaving the game and encountered the crowd of teenagers agreed: “There’s plenty of room in there,” she remarked. “This is just ridiculous!”

After more than 20 minutes of being held up in the Westhill lobby, authorities herded a crowd of around 50 students (most of which from Stamford High) outside of the building into sub-20-degree weather and told them to go home. One student, sophomore Christian Vasquez, was even pushed, supposedly without provocation. Needless to say, however, the avid fans who had come all the way to cheer on their team were quite reluctant to up and leave in the midst of such an important game. Students plead with police, administrators, and even the superintendent herself, but to no avail. And while one adult after another was granted entrance into the building, the die-hard student fans waited outside- livid and freezing. As senior and member of the Stamford High Athletic Council Carter Trabakino put it, “The treatment of students who were forced to stand in the frigid cold by the police was nothing short of disrespectful.” He then added, “They continued to let adults in despite telling us there was no more room!” Trabakino was late for the game because he was supporting another Stamford High team, hockey, as they took on Trinity Catholic.

For seniors, this debacle was especially upsetting, it being the last basketball rivalry game of their high school careers. Junior Tyler Serricchio selflessly commented, “It would have been nice to see the game, but I don’t think it was fair for all the seniors missed out.” Trabakino concurred: “It seems sad to me that, one, students, but especially seniors could not get into such a big game. I feel they could have predicted that such a large number of people or at the very least could have warned us that there was limited room.” Alas, they did no such thing- leaving many true fans utterly discouraged from attending school events in the future.

A chosen few waited outside for the duration of the game, both in vain hopes that the cops might let them in if only out of common courtesy or general concern for their health and well- being as well, as to protest the injustice of the situation. Some, like Junior Danny Williams, stuck around merely out of solidarity for their frozen peers. “[I stayed] to support my friends,” Williams said bluntly. Others who were able to endure the cold included Vasquez, Serricchio, Trabakino, and Junior Geoffrey Cahr who arrived late because he was supporting the girls basketball program in their battle against the Vikings. “With the exception of standing outside in the freezing cold with just a zip up sweater- for an hour mind you- outside of quite possibly the biggest game of the year,” Cahr stated with a hint of sarcasm, “…my Wednesday night went as planned.”