THE BASKETBALL GAME

He’s sitting seven rows up in Section 131 — the so-called “overflow” section for students who didn’t quite get to the doors of Crisler Arena in time to gain admittance to the courtside Maize Rage. You could say this is where the reasonably committed fans sit. “Enthusiastic, just not overly so,” could be Section 131’s tagline.

 

With 15 minutes until tip-off, this student appears ready to go. He’s wearing Michigan’s newest basketball attire, a maize Jordan Brand jersey that has a retro feel to it. Him and his friend eagerly chat, excited for the ensuing matchup between the 11th-ranked Badgers and the Wolverines.

 

The arena has a different feel to it tonight, likely due to the hundreds of emoji faces scattered throughout the arena. It’s Social Media Night for the Wolverines, and players’ faces have been illustrated and printed onto thick cardboard cutouts to imitate the emojis that are so popular on social media today. The posters are big enough to get in other fans’ line of vision, but most spectators seem good-natured today. Either that, or there are more smiles because of the posters’ wide, goofy grins.

 

The conversation soon subsides, and the student pulls out his iPhone. He has at least six tabs open, tapping each screen excessively, almost nervously, to get from page to page. On one he’s looking into buying a new pair of Nikes. Maybe he’s inspired by the basketball game in front of him. Or maybe he’s just a sneaker junkie. On another page, Twitter is open. Another, Facebook. Another, Snapchat.

 

Before he deposits the device back into his pocket, he flashes his screen at his friend, who nods in approval.

 

“Dope,” he says.

 

“I’ve been needing a new pair. I’ll order them when I get home.”

 

A whistle blows, and the two are brought to the present. Michigan’s D.J. Wilson grabs the tip-off, and the game is officially underway. A fan in the distance waves Wilson’s emoji head erratically in the distance.

 

The student is young, probably a freshman. He looks much more baby-faced than the players on the court, but less baby-faced than the cartoon cutouts near them.

 

He keeps the tabs open on his phone, tapping his screen every now and then as to not let the screen lock, even though he’s watching the game in front of him instead. Minutes trickle by, and Michigan is playing well considering its top-25 opponent.

 

Exciting, but not exciting enough.

He clicks the bright, sunshine yellow Snapchat app and a video with a “Geofilter” from Detroit pops up on his screen. Bright lights and loud drums give away that the video is of a concert. This student doesn’t know it, but if he looked up, he would see Detroit product Derrick Walton Jr. dribble across midcourt instead.

 

It would be easy to say that this particular student may not be Walton’s biggest fan given his aversion to what’s happening on the court, but he’s donning a jersey with Walton’s name on it. Later in the game, when Walton scores, the student pinches the corners of the jersey he’s wearing and pops it, as if to say, “That’s my boy.”

 

With 19.7 seconds to go, the student opens up Snapchat once more and lets the camera focus and refocus by tapping the screen repeatedly. He has to be ready, and his camera must be primed. If something exciting happens and he doesn’t have video evidence of it, was he even really there?

 

The contest ends calmly, 64-58, likely because Michigan has had a fairly comfortable lead for the final 10 minutes of the game. The student records the crowd’s excitement instead, zooming in on one of Moe Wagner’s emoji face posters in the distance.

 

It’s like emoji inception, where the emoji exists in real life while the student lives behind his screen.​