Thank the Lord for Western Kentucky fans. Never mind that their team lost. Or that no one outside of Bowling Green is sure what a Hilltopper is. Or that the floppy-mouthed, noseless ball of red fur they call a mascot doesn't clarify a thing.

See, the Superdome is so gi-normous, the afternoon session had about as much atmosphere as a preseason NIT consolation game. No taunting, no face paint, no outright silliness. Too many empty seats, too little full-blooded fanaticism. This is the Dance?

But the Hilltoppers fans formed a red wall of sound in Section 143. They stood as soon as their team ran onto the court, whooping and whistling. They banged their chairs for Chris Marcus, their seven-foot NBA prospect. They donned their Miracle 'Fros in honor of Tremain Rowles.

They stood during tip-off. They stood after the first Hilltopper basket. And the second. And the seventh. And why not? They hadn't seen this side of NC2A in six years, Florida looked lumpy and slow, and Western was up by 10. The Toppers weren't about to sit down for anyone.

There were Gators fans in the house, but aside from an unimpressive clump behind Florida's bench, they were sprinkled harmlessly throughout the stands.

"Airball! Airball!" screamed a stranded Gator fan wearing a nacho cheese-orange Hawaiian shirt.

"Nice shirt!" an entire row of Hilltoppers yelled back.

Finally, a security guard came down the cement steps of the Superdome, sheepishly asking the Western fans to sit down because they were blocking the view of the far end of the court.

"This is bull." said one Topper indignantly, taking a seat. "I've never heard of anything like this."

"This is a free country!" protested another. The guard shrugged and motioned to the paying customers a section over.

"Let's stand up again when he leaves!" said another, trying to be conspiratorial but ending up just being conspicuous.

"Yeah!" yelled the crowd, as if they'd just discovered bread. The guard smirked at their enthusiasm and trudged back up the stairs.

Seconds later, they were up out of their seats.

"Yeah! We're hilltoppers!"

Even Hawaiian Cheez Whiz boy had to laugh.

Anne Marie Cruz is a senior reporter for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail her at anne.marie.cruz@espnmag.com.