It's too bad that we have to look back on the good old days of an arena that's not even 20 years old.
But that's exactly what I found myself doing at halftime of last week's crucial Mid-American Conference West Division showdown between Ball State and Central Michigan.
During one of the game's most exciting plays of the first half, point guard Randy Davis hit a 3-pointer in transition that forced the Chippewas into a timeout. The crowd went crazy.
Well, all 3,505 of them at least.
One senior student, not from the Muncie area, said it was the loudest he has ever heard Worthen Arena. Another student and myself — both local guys — simply shook our heads.
We believed this out-of-towner because, in his four years here, he hasn't exactly seen the best basketball ever played in Ball State history.
To be blunt: he's probably been a part of the worst era in Ball State basketball history.
Four seasons ago, Ball State hired Ronny Thompson. The result was a 9-22 season, the most losses in school history, and a coach and program littered in NCAA violations and controversy.
Three months after his first and only season ended with a first-round loss in the MAC Tournament, Thompson resigned amidst what he called a "racially hostile" environment.
These details have been well-documented, and my opinion on the matter, well, probably isn't appropriate for this column.
Whatever the case may be, Thompson left the program in complete shambles.
Understandably, season-ticket holders — some who had been attending games for decades — weren't going to come back to games at Worthen Arena anytime soon. One of them was my now 95-year-old great-grandfather. The general public and students in The Nest also weren't interested in watching the trainwreck.
Billy Taylor was hired in August 2007 with just three months remaining until the season opener to try to piece together some sort of a team.
The 2007-08 season went as expected, a school-record 24 losses and a roster containing no players taller than 6-foot-5.
The home attendance numbers reflected this with just an average of 3,398 fans compared to the season before, when an average of 4,294 fans came out to home games.
Last season saw Taylor's first recruiting class, and the Cardinals surprised some with a 14-17 record, a co-MAC West championship and an average of 3,653 fans at each home game.
This season, the improvement has been even more obvious. Ball State enters today with a winning record and an inside track to its own MAC West title, the No. 2 seed and a bye in the first round of the MAC Tournament.
The players in Taylor's first two recruiting classes are beginning to show their promise. Sophomore Jarrod Jones, last season's MAC Freshman of the Year, can be a dominating center. Davis, a sophomore, is a rising star and proving his worth as a floor general. Sophomore Pierre Sneed is a stopper on defense and lightning quick as he runs up and down the court. Freshman guard Jauwan Scaife has one of the prettiest jump shots in Ball State history.
Even considering all these facts, the general public just doesn't care anymore. The only exception in this notion comes from The Nest, where Charlie's Crew has done a great job this season of bringing more students in the games.
A generously presented average of 3,419 fans come to home games this season. I'll play Mr. Obvious here: that's less than last season.
I don't expect Worthen Arena to be packed like it was in the mid- to late-1990s when Bonzi Wells was the greatest thing since sliced bread.
But it's time for the former season ticket holders and the general public to figure one thing out: The Ronny Thompson debacle is over.
Taylor's in his third year at Ball State, his two recruiting classes are winning and they're winning now. The Cardinals have gone from laughable to contender in a short period of time.
Perhaps I can soon again blame the Worthen Arena faithful for bursting my eardrums.
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