From Nashville to the UK: Vanderbilt Basketball's Expanding Fanbase – Sports Illustrated

Amidst a 74-51 Vanderbilt victory over Wake Forest on Thursday night, there was an international fandom beginning to form. All it took was one picture of the guys posted to Twitter, and I knew they’d make for a good conversation.
At halftime, I was able to find two of the five still in their seats. There was no shortage of English hospitality when I introduced myself. Let’s call these first guys British Bloke 1 and 2 – because their heavily-accented English passion made it difficult to make out their names.
Believe me, the boys were buzzing. “We just arrived in Nashville today,” Bloke No. 1 proclaimed. “We're basketball fans, but only because we wanted to see a basketball game. We’ve never been to a basketball game ever.”
That answered my second question, do they know anything about Vanderbilt Basketball (the answer is no if that was unclear). To me it seemed like a perfect introduction, a game in which Vanderbilt pulled away late, led by strong performances from Tyler Tanner (16 pts, 10 rebs) and Ace Glass (16 pts). And even though the game was relatively sloppy, the chaps didn’t seem to notice.
“We don’t watch basketball or the NBA that much, so this is still pretty impressive,” Bloke No. 2 commented. “The best game you’ll get to watch is some people playing at the park.”
At this point I felt confident that they were fully experiencing the game, but not the full atmosphere. Like a kid looking longingly through the window of a candy shop, I followed one of the fellas' eyes toward the student section.
“Are you wondering about that section over there?” – I asked them.
“Yeah I was just thinking, we need to go over there where it’s lively.”
What’s more American than a group of screaming college kids. I could only imagine what the students would think of these guys, dressed in their dashing UK blazers while double-fisting whiteclaws. It’s like it was meant to be.
I asked them where the rest of the British Blokes were, because the only thing better than two brits in the student section is five. And like a beer being summoned at an Irish pub, they appeared behind me. 
I’m not proud of this, but I went 2 for 5 on names for the night. I met Chris, shook William’s hand, but then unfortunately missed out on British Bloke No. 3’s name. I’d like to think I could shoot a higher percentage of free throws than that.
But the best part was, the names didn’t even matter. There was so much jolly spirit resonating off of these guys, a formal conversation would have been impossible, and also an injustice to their good vibes.
The blokes proceeded to ask me a whole host of questions. I can only assume they thought I was a pretty knowledgeable and powerful figure in the Vanderbilt world – all that time smiling in front of the mirror must be working. So I told them if there’s one thing they have to do while in Nashville, it’s visit our beloved Broadway.
“We’re going to have to wear our suits to Broadway,” The Blokes said in unison excitedly. “We have the full suit, not just the jacket. Trousers, waistcoat, tie, the whole lot. We’ll end up downtown soon by the sound of it.”
After a few more minutes of ‘banter’ with the five fellas, I headed back to the crow’s nest. Even now, as I sit reminiscing on the interaction a day later, the randomness of it makes me laugh. If sports media consists of conversations like that, then sign me up. Hopefully I’ll be at the next game with a Union Jack-et of my own.
Are they going to read this article? Probably not. Did I likely misquote them a few times due to their accents? Probably. Do either of those factors matter? Not in the slightest. Carry on my new friends, and God Save the Queen!
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Mikey attends Vanderbilt University, where he’s covered football and men's basketball games for the VandyRadio and Hustler newspaper. He discovered his love for athletics growing up in Montana, and runs a fantasy football podcast when he’s not busy skiing or cliff jumping.
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