RamGram Becomes Part of Moby Magic
Lynch and her husband are new to the fame, but not Colorado State basketball
Mike Brohard
She didn’t really think much about being on the video board.
As a season-ticket holder for more than 30 years, Janice Lynch and her husband Denny had been shown before. It was fun and very random when it happened.
But it had.
Then it all changed drastically – in an instant -- and Janice didn’t know what to think.
“Never focused like that,” Lynch said of this year’s game with Denver at Moby Arena. “I know they’ve captured us before; I’ve seen it, but it’s never been quite like that.”
The times in the past, she was there on the board and then gone. Unlike the times before, they came back to her. Then again, at the urging of the student section.
When they switched cameras and went to the students, they started pointing back. So, the camera went back to Janice. Then back to the students, who pointed even more and started booing. Back to Janice and a huge roar.
Not only was a star born – a reluctant one at that – but so was the legend of RamGram.
During the game, the cheers for her are as deafening as they are for an amazing Isaiah Stevens pass, a Nique Clifford dunk and even a splashed Joe Palmer 3.
The Headband has to share the spotlight, and he’s perfectly fine with being a side attraction.
“I love it. I’m happy she’s taking some of the fame,” Palmer said with a wide smile. “She’s taking the pressure off.”
It all happened so suddenly and unscripted. The camera operator at the game found her just scanning the crowd, but the production crew took notice when the student section reacted the way it did, so they just had to find her again. And again.
Give the people what they want, but Lynch really appreciated when the cameraman found her later to make sure she was OK with the proceedings.
“I was not even aware that was how it was happening. I just knew the cameraman was coming back to us all the time,” she said. “Then later I realized what the students were doing. It was very sweet of them, and it was an honor they thought of it like that, I guess.
“Then it happened again the next game, which was fun. I just love the atmosphere of the basketball arena when the students are there, and everything gets going and everyone is so excited. I don’t want to seek it out, but I don’t mind it.”
At first Janice just smiled. As her screen time progressed, she would wave and now has a signature move – she flashes a heart. All the while, Denny just moves to the side a bit, knowing who the main attraction really is.
“I’m just the driver,” he joked one day when the two were invited to visit the team at a practice. “There’s ‘Driving Miss Daisy.’ I’m driving Miss Janie.”
What really took her aback was the reaction from the public. Again, she didn’t think much about it during the game, but the next day her Facebook page was flooded with messages. She does have an Instagram account, and while she’s not on it much, there were messages there, too.
Before long, students were coming up to her asking to take selfies with her. The hashtag she likes the most is #RamGram.
I just love the atmosphere of the basketball arena when the students are there, and everything gets going and everyone is so excited. I don’t want to seek it out, but I don’t mind it.Janice Lynch
Her appearances happen during timeouts, and head coach Niko Medved wasn’t sure what was going on, focused on delivering his message to the team. But he could tell something was definitely up when the roars became so loud when normally it just hits him like a consistent buzz.
When he was told exactly what transpired, he had to invite the Lynch’s to a practice. They already knew the team as active members of the Roundball booster club.
“I never pay attention or even know what’s going on during timeouts, but I noticed in some games there’s been enormous roars coming from the crowd, and I find out it’s her,” Medved said. “I love it. I’m here for it.
“I think it’s really cool for her, somebody who’s been here in this community. You listen to how many people in her family have been part of CSU or gone to CSU. She told me she was in the restaurant the other day and people notice her as RamGram and the students do, and I think that’s pretty cool. It speaks to the kind of culture we want, getting your fans invested in the community and that being a part of what you do.”
When the cheers in timeouts became so noticeable, some of the players started to look for answers. Freshman Rashaan Mbemba one time finally looked up at the board when the sound became so piercing and that’s when he saw RamGram smiling and flashing a heart.
Now, Medved said he knows all the players know exactly where she sits.
“Me, when I first saw it, it was crazy. The camera shows the students, and every student on camera pointed in one direction, and I was curious,” Mbemba said. “Then they put up RamGram and the whole crowd shouted and celebrated. At that time, I was thinking, maybe they’re longtime supporters. And they have been coming to watch CSU games for 30 some years. I’m 20 now and they’ve been watching games for 10 more years. That’s crazy. Those are fans.”
For the team, Moby magic is real. They can feel it, and when they return to the floor after a break and the place is energized, it fuels them too.
With RamGram, the place is just more magical, the atmosphere even more electric.
“I mean, after timeouts and the crowd is shouting, we can go out and focus and feed off that,” Mbemba said. “We get fed by that energy. It’s insane.”
She and her husband first started going to men’s basketball games in the 1980s, becoming season-ticket holders in 1988. Then they added women’s basketball and volleyball to the mix, Janice figuring that was around the time Becky Hammon was a freshman.
They are not only boosters for the men’s team, but also women’s basketball and volleyball. They love supporting the teams and getting to know the players.
The feeling is mutual.
“We sit together at booster events. I met her last year at the first one,” Palmer said. “She’s a Midwest girl from Iowa – Baxter – so I know where that is. I’m from southern Minnesota, close to Iowa, so I knew exactly where she was talking about. And she reminds me of my grandma.”
For instance, Palmer found out she grew up playing basketball. In her youth, Iowa played with six players on the court, three on each side of the halfcourt line.
In turn, she found out he has a reputation as a chef.
At one of the events Niko opened it up for questions, so I said, ‘this is for the guys: Who’s the best dancer? Who’s the funniest and who’s the best cook?’” she said. “To the man, for cook, they said Joe. We connected and visited about that, and every event we sit together and talk. It’s very sweet. Two years with him is not enough.”
Denny worked for the university for 17 years in maintenance and as a carpenter. Janice was a nurse at Poudre Valley Hospital for 42 years, retiring in 2012. While not CSU graduates, they are super fans. They have had a son graduate from the university, two daughters-in-law and one granddaughter, with another being a senior at the school currently.
Funny thing was, she hadn’t gone to a game and didn’t realize her grandmother was a crowd favorite.
Now, when she attends games, she’s prepared. She still wouldn’t mind if they never turned the camera on her again, but where at first she didn’t know how to react, she now knows how to play it cool for her fans.
Nothing flashy, mind you. Definitely a smile, And Denny will lean a bit to give his wife space. Attending a practice was definitely a perk for them, with Janice saying Medved was giving them so much information she didn’t understand how they’d remember it all.
But she has confidence in them. Just like she’s become a fan and player favorite, they are hers. The booster events have led to great friendships with other fans. There’s always the thrill of watching the games, but the best part for her is watching them grow and develop.
The team is like a second family to her in some ways. And like any grandmother, she loves them all equally.
“I can’t pick out one specific. They all have their own talents. They are all my favorites,” she said. “I love to watch them develop from their freshman year or whenever they come in. That’s really enjoyable.”
Definitely more so than becoming part of the game experience. Even still, hearts all around for everyone.