Off The Court With The
2/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 16, 2009
By David Kennison
For the thousands of loyal students attending men's basketball games at the Bradley Center, the coolest tradition currently going in Marquette hoops is not the playing of "Ring Out Ahoya," it's not singing of "Hail Alma Mater," nor is it heading straight to a local establishment with half of section 406 after the final buzzer.
It's R.A. (Rick) Smith. You probably know him as the "Jump Around Guy."
When the Golden Eagles make one of their patented second-half runs, the opposing coach will call a timeout to quell the momentum and subdue the crowd. The result is often not what the coach intended, because this is when Smith - along with the entire student section -- goes to work.
The roar elicited when Smith appears on the JumboTron jumping and clapping to House of Pain's 1992 smash hit "Jump Around" rivals any produced by a Dominic James' dunk, Jerel McNeal three-pointer or Robert Frozena check-in.
Smith, a 1973 MU graduate and native of Milwaukee, has been doing his routine for over three years, and it's become a staple of the gameday experience at the Bradley Center.
It began as a dare from his wife, Joan, in 2006 at an ESPN televised game. Sitting in section 227, Smith noticed a conspicuous lack of anyone besides the students jumping to the song.
"I was wearing a suit and thinking `why is it just the students jumping?'" said Smith. "`Why doesn't anyone else get up with some enthusiasm?' My wife asked, `Well, what's holding you back?' So I get up and start jumping, and as soon as I do the camera focused on me. Almost immediately she gets a phone call."
Turns out it was their son Bobby, a Georgetown graduate living in Washington D.C. who was watching the game on television.
"Mom, is that my idiot father I just saw jumping up and down on ESPN?"
Later that evening Smith was featured on various local television news programs that labeled him a lookalike to the movie character Ron Burgundy, the eccentric news anchor played by actor Will Ferrell in the comedy Anchorman.
R.A. Smith had arrived.
The routine became an instant phenomenon with Marquette fans. Smith has even garnered status as a celebrity of sorts.
"I'll be walking downtown and someone will come up and recognize me," says Smith. "Once I was at a funeral, standing in line to pay my respects when a guy comes up to me and says `Hey, you're the Jump Around Guy!' It's a bit ridiculous at times but it's all just fun."
But it's not always as easy as Smith makes it look.
"There have been games when I haven't felt like jumping, but inevitably they will play the song and the cameras turn towards me. Once the students start going crazy I don't really have a choice, I have to jump," he says.
The students aren't the only ones that embolden Smith. His biggest supporter is his wife Joan who refuses to allow Smith to let down the Bradley Center crowd.
"Sometimes I'll say, `You know I hope they don't play that song today.' But once it comes on my wife will say `Well, you have no choice now,' said Smith. "She's the one who encouraged me three years ago and is very supportive."
While Smith has been jumping for just three years, his support for the Golden Eagles dates back to his days as a Marquette student when the legendary Al McGuire patrolled the sidelines as head coach.
Smith credits his favorite memory to a 59-58 thriller over rival Wisconsin in 1974 when Marquette's Maurice Lucas drilled a shot at the buzzer. In vintage Al McGuire fashion, the beloved coach leaped onto the scorer's table to celebrate. Smith remembers it distinctly.
"Wisconsin had a pair of 6-foot-10 centers, (Kim and Kerry Hughes) that we called the `twin towers.' When Al hopped onto the scorer's table, their father gave him the finger," said Smith.
The photo with Al's arms raised in celebration appeared in the Journal Sentinel the next day and his legendary pose became part of Marquette basketball lore.
"It was absolutely spectacular," noted Smith. "I'll never forget it."
In addition to his presence courtside, Smith, who owns his own engineering firm, is an active fundraiser for the University and currently sits on the board of directors for Marquette's civil engineering advisory board. He's a key player in the $100 million fundraising effort for a new engineering building.
"It's going to be a world class facility for engineering students and I'm excited to bring attention to Marquette and the city of Milwaukee. Anything I can do to help the University is very important to me," Smith said. "To see the progress Marquette has made from my freshman year in 1968 to now is tremendously exciting."
The current Marquette squad and their ascension to the top of the BIG EAST Conference has Smith harkening back to the glory days of Marquette's 1977 national championship when he joined thousands of supporters running down Wisconsin Avenue to Lake Michigan.
"Regardless of what happens, it's been an exciting season," said Smith. "We have a few games left here and the schedule will be tough down the stretch, but we are doing well and will hopefully play well in the NCAA Tournament."
And as for the jumping?
"As long as people are excited and enthused about it I'll continue to jump."
