"Let's go, Maryland!"

When Juan Dixon, a senior star on the men's basketball team, was asked at a recent press conference to describe the fans at Cole Field House, he smiled and groped for the right word.

"Creative," he said.

They come by the thousands, with dyed hair and draped in school colors, chanting and waiting in ticket lines that wind and twist outside Cole's walls. Die-hard students camp out days in advance to get the best, close-to-the-action seats in general admission sections.

When a visiting team is introduced on the court, Maryland students hold up their school newspapers, feigning disinterest. The student seats start right at court's edge, creating a notoriously unnerving atmosphere for the opposing team. The student sections of the arena rumble, thunder, shriek and sometimes moo--in support of forward Byron Mouton. 

"LET'S GO, MARYLAND!" 

"They don't care what comes out of their mouth," Dixon said of the fans. "I wouldn't want to be on the other side."