It’s unfortunate that unless Harvard makes the Sweet 16, the campus likely won’t be able to watch much of the games together.

Regardless of whether or not the Crimson makes it that far, the transformation over the last couple of years around Harvard basketball has been pretty remarkable. Even during my freshmen year, the only game on the campus’ radar was probably the Cornell-Harvard game.

By no means is the fan involvement anything like a Duke or a Kentucky. It’s not close, and I don’t ever think it will be. Basketball has yet to become a ubiquitous campus presence like it is at other schools from across the country.

But I can say that the whole dynamic has changed in just three years. When I was applying to college, one of the real drawbacks that sports fans at the school complained about was a fundamental lack of interest in Harvard and Ivy League athletics.

Even if for only one of Harvard’s 41 varsity teams, that stigma has changed. And I think the school is a much better place for it. We have houses, classes, concentrations, and extracurricular activities that build community here. But the basketball team is one of the few things that I have seen transcend that—at least based on what my news feed is telling me.

So beyond my interest as a fan, I hope Harvard makes it to the Sweet 16 just to see how the community here would react. Plus, I also have $10 in Vegas on Harvard winning the NCAA title.

Hey, if you’re not going to do it for the fans, at least do it for me.

—Staff writer E. Benjamin Samuels can be reached at samuels@college.harvard.edu.