Moby Arena's History Filled with Clutch Shots
Even now, with the Rams idle, big shots are being distributed
Moby Arena has seen a slew of memorable shots over the years, and some of the biggest are being taken currently.
None of the Colorado State teams which call the facility home are active, but people are lining up outside for a different type of Moby Magic – the COVID-19 vaccine.
“This is the biggest shot anybody will ever take in the history of Moby Arena,” CSU women’s basketball coach Ryun Williams said. “And it’s a game-winner.”
The shots are being distributed on the north concourse on Mondays and Saturdays, and according to Lori Lynn, Executive Director of the CSU Health Network, Moby Arena will remain an active site as long as Larimer County feels it is servicing the community. She said the goal is to distribute 800 vaccines a day, and she’s glad the university can take part in such an important task.
Those trying to be administered the vaccine are encouraged to regularly check the Larimer County website to schedule appointments for Moby Arena and other sites.
I think it’s time that CSU partnered with the community to get everybody healthy again so we can bring the same joy that we bring to this community. I think it’s fitting that it’s in an athletic venue.Tom Hilbert
“The Health Network is providing some vaccines here, but it’s very limited,” Lynn said. “This allows our staff to help support a bigger effort, and we’re able to do it on a much larger scale than what we’d be able to do independently. It’s a great collaboration with the county.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to be able to support the community, support CSU and participate in something that really is kind of historic.”
Tom Hilbert can remember the moment when part of the crowd of 6,750 fans stormed the court as his volleyball team rallied to take down No. 5 Nebraska 3-2 back in 2011. Down 2-0 to the Huskers, he and his team all knew it was going to take their best effort to vanquish a foe and produce a very signature win in program history.
He’s spent the last year watching his players try to navigate a worldwide pandemic in an effort to gain some satisfaction from playing the sport they love. There were no guarantees, as they all found, even when following all the health and safety guidelines.
Hilbert’s volleyball team spent some time in quarantine prior to the season. Freshman Naeemah Weathers quarantined 35 days before school started, simply from being in the wrong place at the wrong time. She never tested positive, yet she missed out on so much.
Now, one shot can help make shape the outcome, one akin to Jacque Davidson’s final attack which took down No 6 Washington at Moby to earn a berth into the NCAA Volleyball Tournament’s Sweet 16 back in 2009.
“I think it’s time that CSU partnered with the community to get everybody healthy again so we can bring the same joy that we bring to this community,” Hilbert said. “I think it’s fitting that it’s in an athletic venue.”
Colorado State University was more than willing to play an active role in stemming the spread of COVID-19, as it has done so since the beginning through the efforts of the Pandemic Preparedness Team on campus. As Hilbert suggested, the place his team calls home was a fitting facility to aid the efforts.
Through the years, Moby Arena has opened its doors to green-and-gold clad Ram fans, inviting them to take an active role in some of the biggest athletic achievements. Since it’s opening in 1966, it has served as a gathering place for the greater Fort Collins community, and it is poetic it can help bring everybody back together again.
Colorado State not only wants to be a good community partner, but hold a leadership role in Fort Collins’ continuing development and stature, and President Joyce McConnell has exhibited a desire to do so by making a campus facility an active part of combating the virus.
“It’s been a prevalent attitude throughout the entire pandemic, so every time there’s been an opportunity for Colorado State University to step forward and provide support for the broader community, Joyce, the PPT and others have done that,” Director of Athletics Joe Parker said. “It’s just natural that when we’ve reached this stage and we have an opportunity to provide a great resource with an on-campus facility for mass-vaccination, we would do that. We’re on the western edge of campus, we have a ton of parking not being utilized and we have an indoor facility where they can stage, it just seems like a natural thing for us to do.”
The coaches all know how magical the place can be, especially when filled to the brim. During the pandemic, fans were missed greatly by players and coaches alike. The atmosphere was absent. The vibe was flat.
Piped-in sounds gave the players some noise, but it was generated. It wasn’t authentic, and it became part of the background. Fans take games to a completely different level. They are spontaneous, reacting to the action on the court. They rise with the team, and even help lift them up.
When Isaiah Stevens hit some big shots against UNLV this season at home, the moment just didn’t carry the same weight. Nobody was there to go bonkers, as was the case the season before when the guard rushed down the court and hit a pull-up jumper at the buzzer sounded to beat Nevada.
His coach, Niko Medved knows the difference. And seeing people line up outside of Moby Arena reminds him of what can be again.
“I think it is amazing as you look at a year ago where we were,” Medved said. “Now you look out and you see at Moby, there are people pouring in and out of here getting vaccinated. It’s kind of that hopeful sign that you have, that we’re starting to move back to normal and people are going to start to be able to do things. That is a reminder first hand that you can see that happening in your own community. That brings you hope. You’re like, next year, this place, let’s have it full. Let’s all be back.
“It’s been the first time in a long time we’ve seen people lined up outside. It’s interesting when they’re in your arena to get vaccinated. It gives you a first-hand picture of hope for the future and what that can look like.”
The lines forming outside Moby Arena are not what the coaches are used to seeing. Normally, those people are their fans, people who mean so much to their programs. The reality is, some of them are the very same people.
They’ve missed them. So, if the vaccine can return the lines outside back to their original purpose, all the better. The games weren’t just the same. The teams knew they would be different, but it turned out to be more so than any of them could ever have imagined.
“Our fans have played such an integral part in the magic of Moby Arena,” Williams said. “For Moby Arena to give back to the people who have supported our program is just a really cool thing.”
Just as cool as seeing Ellen Nystrom take an inbound pass, turn to her left and fire off a game-winning baseline fadeaway jumper to beat the clock and Colorado all in one smooth motion.
Moby Magic is most definitely back, filled with shots designed to uplift the masses, helping to create a time when teams and their fans can all share those moments together once again.