To paraphrase the famous Harry Doyle in the movie Major League; in case you haven’t noticed, and judging by the attendance you haven’t, McNeese State is playing some exciting basketball these days.

The Cowboys remain a well kept secret, hiding out in south Lake Charles.

These guys are doing more than winning some games, too. They are also putting on a show, entertaining those who bother to make the short drive out to Burton Coliseum.

However, not many have decided to go.

It’s understandable for people to stay away in droves for weeknight games against Louisiana College and Jarvis Christian. Neither of those opponents are really worth the extra miles on a car.

But when only family and friends, and a smattering of others, bother showing up for a rivalry game against the supposedly hated Louisiana-Lafayette, it is head-scratching.

Last Saturday night that’s what took place.

With the opponent an NCAA tournament team from a season ago, and somebody who lives just a few short miles down the interstate, you would think McNeese fans would come out in big numbers. Or any numbers for that matter.

Instead, only 1,086 bothered to make the trip.

That is just a few folks over triple digits. That made for more than a few empty seats in the arena.

This did not go unnoticed by the Cowboys either.

“I am disappointed a lot of fans missed this game,” said McNeese head coach Dave Simmons. “I’m not sure what else we can do.”

At this point I tend to agree.

I understand there was a Christmas boat parade and some other holiday events around town, but really?

While the Cowboys were putting on a show with an 80-70 win that included an intense battle and six dunks, the locals proved to be a no show.

Over the years we have heard a lot of complaints about the type of teams McNeese plays, about the distance it is to Burton and about the type of team the Cowboys have on the court. All reasons to stay away.

Not this year.

The home schedule is better than in recent years. The building has been spruced up recently and they even put in a bar at one end.

As for the Cowboys, they have a pretty good team that seems to be getting better. It is a group of guys who understand they are also trying to entertain as well.

“We want to give people a show and reason to come back and see us again,” said senior Kevin Hardy, who had three dunks against the Cajuns.

“We are a very exciting team to watch,” said Desharick Guidry, another senior. “We are trying to get people to come out and see what we are doing.”

Of course it is hard to rail against the local population for not going to the game when the campus community also stayed away.

For the game against ULL there were no cheerleaders from either team. The bands were also missing.

When other students with close ties to the program don’t attend games then it is asking an awful lot of the general public to do so.

Hope is that this will change, at least a little, when McNeese puts the finishing touches on its new on-campus basketball arena. But that is still a couple years away.

For now the only thing this team can control is how they play on the court.

“We have to win and put on a good performance,” said Hardy. “We are an exciting team to watch.”

Whether or not people take notice is still yet to be seen.(Rick Hickman/American Press)