4:20 p.m. With 15:59 left to play in the game, the "We-Love-Kent-State" chant begins.
4:30 p.m. With a timeout on the floor, the cheerleaders rush out onto the court and launch shirts and balls into the
stands. People are waving and yelling, hoping to be one of the lucky ones.
A man behind a media table holds up a sign: "Zippy Burgers for the homeless."
4:32 p.m. The scoreboard reads Kent 57, Akron 39. Gene Carson doesn't mind that he has been sitting the entire
game in the farmost corner of the topmost row of the bleachers in the upper level. The view's fine from here, he says.
"This is a 20-point game no matter where you're sitting," he says. He does not say it happily, as the Akron
University logo emblazoned on his sweatshirt might suggest.
Akron's been playing badly lately, he says with a shrug. And Kent State, he has to admit, is the best team in the
MAC. Regardless, though, he can see just fine from his lofty perch.
4:35 p.m. Out in the lobby, away from the noise and excitement of the game, McCall, begins sweeping. It's been a
busy day.
"I can't hardly keep the toilet paper filled," she says. "I finish one side of the bathroom, and by the time I finish that
side, the other side is empty."
4:38 p.m. The lobby is empty. Only a handful of people is moving around. The lines at the concession stands
are nonexistent.
4:39 p.m. The first fans are shaken from their seats as Kent State's lead expands to 65-47.
4:41 p.m. Flash begins body surfing through the student section at the far end of the gym. The students pass him
along until he reaches the top of the bleachers right under the Marshall banner.
The pep band begins to play The Final Countdown as the attendance of 6,402 is announced.
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