12 Things Every Sudbury Five Fan Is Seriously Missing In 2021

From something that we didn’t know we wanted to something we desperately desire, Sudbury Five basketball is surely missed in 2021.

It wasn’t that long ago that Dario Zulich brought the best of Canadian basketball to Greater Sudbury with the introduction of the Sudbury Five in 2018.

The fast-paced games and high levels of play probably surprised more than a few people in the beginning and as time went on fans of the Sudbury Five quickly grew to expect it.

Then came 2020.

Move to the present and here we are; still wallowing in the void that is no Five basketball, leaving us to go over this list of twelve things every Sudbury Five fan is missing in 2021.

12 Things Every Sudbury Five Fan Is Seriously Missing In 2021

Getting in on the Action

If you were at the game you were part of the team. From the simple chants of “Go Five Go” to the more extravagant Will Ferrell’ing of that dude on the cowbell, there was a way for everyone to get in on the game. If you were sitting behind the net, you might even end up with a player on your lap.

DJ Bassline Jack

DJ Bassline Jack, the Sudbury Five’s super-talented slinger of slaps kept the beats a close second to the on-court action. The synchronization between classic hip-hop cuts and the actual game was almost as on-point as Braylon Rayson throwing threes.

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Three-Pointers

Speaking of Braylon Rayson’s downtown game, three-point shot attempts were amongst the rare times that our hometown crowd was brought to silence. Time and again, the Five would have fans forgetting to take in oxygen while waiting for triples to land and it was great.

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DJ Bubba

The Sudbury Five’s resident MC DJ Bubba might be considered by some to be the glue that held the night together. If not the glue, then some darn good velcro. The man on the mic held it down, from intros to the ever-popular pizza giveaways.

Eats

Bad coffee and semi-stale popcorn. What more could a Greater Sudbury sports fan asks for? Seriously, when you have a hankering for some greasy-good pizza and some pints, why wouldn’t you combine it with some live hometown basketball?

Loyal Fans

Sudbury started off its basketball journey with a packed house on opening night and not much changed throughout the rest of the Five’s run. Team pride ran with it and it ran hard. A full barn come game time, stuffed with fans decked out in Sudbury Five jerseys, hats, and foam-fingers was as awesome as it sounds.

Rock Monster

Nine months of work and 500 local elementary students later and the Five came up with Sudbury’s answer to Ben Grimm. Apparently, the kids really did know what they were after because the Sudbury Five’s Rock Monster probably got hit up for more photos than anyone else on the team.

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Big Games

Big energy was a staple at Sudbury Five games. It was even bigger when Kitchener or St. Johns showed up to the Nickel City. Mini rivalries like these amped the crowd up all the more and gave fans another big reason to show up to the next match-up.

Chirping

Whether right or wrong a little good-natured chirping can go a long way. Not only do you feel like part of the team (or possibly an annoyance to those around you), it’s also surprisingly easy to rattle the other team’s players. Just keep it clean. Why let Spike Lee have all the fun?

Cheerleaders

It wasn’t exactly like watching the Laker Girls but the Five’s cheerleaders were fun to watch and getting better with every game.

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Dario’s Vision

You have to give credit where credit is due, and Dario Zulich deserves exactly that. Who in Greater Sudbury even knew we had a national basketball league here in Canada in the first place? Who knew Greater Sudbury could actually become a basketball town? Dario did. That’s who.

Unity

All for one and one for all. There’s nothing like our hometown arena full of fans rooting for a win. The atmosphere was always lit up with spirited Sudburians sharing a common goal and the crowd participation that came along from it; all the way down to the  still-in-your-head-the-next-morning D-Fens chants. Who’d have thought you’d even miss those?