Now, I've never been to Italy (I've been to Luxembourg though, which is another story entirely) but Mike McDonnell and Gabe Lewullis took a vacation to Naples earlier this year to visit their friend and former Tiger battler Mason Rocca. They were kind enough to send the following photos along.
The above, explained:
"Once we arrived at the gym, we entered through the West gate, not knowing this was the Avellino section. Everyone was wearing black or blue trash bags and there was a huge curtain in front of us shielding our view of the court. Neither Gabe nor I had any idea what was going, but I thought, "Welcome to Italy." After realizing you can't get from the West section to the North section of the arena while inside the arena (this is apparently to keep home and visiting team fans, & season ticket holders/families and the guys drinking beer heavily away from each other as emotions run high before & during the games), Gabe and I made our way outside to enter through the North gate, found our seats, and began to chant "Rocca" as loud as we could as the teams warmed up. A few minutes before the opening tip, the large curtain in front of the West section came down, revealing a 30 ft by 25 ft Noah's-Ark-looking structure with pictures of the Avellino players riding on the boat. I wish I were making this up. The blue trash bags were to simulate the ocean as the fans jumped/danced and the black to simulate the night sky."
The international language of cheerleaders.
Mason Rocca talks to the princetonbasketball.com Italian bureau.
Gabe Lewullis, Mason Rocca and Jerome Allen taking a brief respit from a heated post-game arguement over who beat Dartmouth more times.
Autographia!
Mason Rocca, sharp Napoli jersey, excited Gabe Lewullis.
"2 meters?"
