Over the weekend the nation’s oldest athletics association, the NCAA opened its 84th season. There was the usual plethora of entertainment numbers that – again as usual – resulted in the opening day proceedings running very late. The first game of the season began almost an hour later than its 2:00 PM schedule. I however am not one to complain especially given all of the lovely cheer dancers who put together one heck of a production number. Early winners included defending champion San Beda over Mapua, last season’s second placer Letran over Jose Rizal University, Perpetual upsetting San Sebastian, and St Benilde edging returning Philippine Christian University.

Next weekend the UAAP will open its 71st season with the July 6 game day featuring Philippine basketball’s most enduring rivalry: defending champion De La Salle will take on long-time rival and Nike Summer League champion Ateneo De Manila. The infernal ticket hunt is on and scalpers will once again make a killing for sure.

Araneta Coliseum was packed to the rafters on the NCAA opening day and the UAAP opening day promises to be a whole lot more crowded. All of the fans who took a long break in the off-season have returned in force, especially if we are to look at the spike in activity and distinct hits in all of the online forums like gameface.ph. Members who dropped out of sight after the last college season are slowly making their way back online. All of the usual banter, bravado and bluster are also back online. Arguments, warnings and suspensions should be following soon.

All told the carnival that is the college basketball season promises to once again be the hottest ticket in town. As much a basketball nut as I may be I am also a slob to the core. While I would rather of course watch the games live it would not kill me to watch it on TV, preferably in a bar near the stadium. Thankfully my media access pass takes care of that. One thing I do not appreciate though is standing for hours on end while watching a game. Apparently the leagues think that designated seats for the press during game days are a waste of precious ticket space for sale.

In this sense it seems the off-season games are actually a better show than the regular season: not only are the leagues and venues more media friendly, they are friendlier to the fans in general. Just take a look at that long list of house rules in front of the Big Dome for instance. You’d think these people were the only game in town. If I were the UAAP and NCAA – more precisely if I were Manny Pangilinan – I’d build my own PLDT Dome or something to that effect, kind of like the stadiums in the NBA built by and named for the patron companies. I would certainly not put up with the Gestapo mentality of the Big Dome. That vacant lot at the corner of Quezon Avenue and EDSA looks mighty good for the PLDT Dome with 20,000 seats.

Ultimately the college leagues must recognize that it is the fans that make the leagues successful. I do not think the UAAP and NCAA would be as big as they are now were it not for the legions of loyal fans across the generations who troop to the venues to watch the games. To have good paying customers treated to the usual inanities of the big venues is simply uncalled for. Fans should be treated with respect for bringing in the revenues. It isn’t just ticket sales and merchandise sales. Fans make it more attractive for corporate sponsors to give money to the leagues. The off-season leagues built upon this simple principle and thus came out pretty good overall.

Thank the maker for the good people over at Studio 23 who do us all a huge favor by broadcasting the games. We could certainly do without some of the things attendant to broadcasting such as tongue-tied commentators and panelists, dumb as hock puck courtside reporters who do not even know the names of their own players, and some of the stylized graphics that clutter the screen. I can never forget that one NCAA girl reporter who did not even know Jason Castro and Gabby Espinas. Even non-NCAA people know who those two are, and here we have a courtside reporter who had no clue.

Still, this is that time of year when all of these concerns are reserved only for crusty old sorts such as I. In the end the hordes of diehard fans will troop to the stadiums regardless of where it may be and what its present condition is just to cheer on their teams. They will eat the stale and overpriced snacks and other things passing off as refreshments. They will fork over millions for tickets, a good part of which will go to scalpers. They will wait through the long lines and the heat and smoke and sometimes the rain and winds just to get in.

Yes sir, it is college basketball season and it is beautiful.