MEMORIES OF 50 YEARS AT THE PIT

FORGOT THE YEAR, but Will Smiley at the foul line makes his one and only free throw as a Lobo, and the crowd gives him one of the biggest standing ovations ever at the Pit. Along with that moment, how can we not remember all the battles of I-25 with both the NMSU Aggies and the UTEP Miners over the years?. Then the classic battles with the Jerry Tarkanian led UNLV “Runnin’” Rebels. Michael Cooper taking on the hated Danny Ainge and the BYU Cougers, and now battles with the likes of the SDSU Aztecs. This list could go on and on. … I am sure there will be so many more great moments to come at “The Pit”. — Marty Miera

IN 1975, I took my 13 year old son to The Pit to see a Chicago band concert. It was a fabulous show but everyone sitting around us was smoking “pot”. At the end of the show----people held up their lighters ( as they did back then) and wanted an encore. I told my son that we were going to leave at that point so as not to be leaving the parking lot with everyone else. Got safely back to our home in Sandia Heights-------- Getting into the house, my then husband and my son’s father was mad as the devil because he thought I had allowed our son to smoke pot. Our hair and clothing wreaked of the smell of marijuana. Years later, my son & I still laugh about it. And I’ll never know if my ex-husband ever believed that we didn’t do anything wrong that night !!! But we loved the concert. Still love “Chicago”. A magical night at “The Pit”. — Judi Sinks, Albuquerque DAN SMITH’S PIE: “Hey man, what are you doing?”

“I’m going to hit Dan Smith with a pie.”

“Awesome, can we help?” “Yeah, stand around me and block the view.”

Dan Smith was an Aggie. An AGGIE! announcing Lobo basketball. He needed hitting with a pie and I was the guy to do it. So, as Smith was doing the postgame wrap-up standing at the NW corner of the court, I was in the NW corner of the student stands making a cream pie out of a paper plate and a can of whipped cream I had snuck in.

As I was ready to go, I glanced at the monitor- A CAR COMMERCIAL IS ON. There I am standing with my cream pie hanging out. Finally, he was back on camera. I rolled off the bleachers and pushed the pie in his face and took off running.

One of the cool things about hitting Dan Smith was that the home games were tape delayed. So I was able to watch Smith disappear in a sea of white. He followed that up with trying to read through his whip creamed glasses.

Games were Thursday/Saturday then. When he came down the tunnel Saturday he was wearing a trench coat. When he hit the edge of the court, he opened it to reveal a GIANT BIB! He received a well deserved ovation for that.

So Saturday after the game, I went down and asked the policeman where Smith did his postgame if he was there when Smith got hit. He said “Yes”. I asked him if he chased the guy. He said “Naw, he was FAST.” That made me smile inside. — Alan Lay