Eighty-six teams were signed up to try and claim the title of men’s intramural basketball champions at the beginning of the intramural basketball season, but a few seem to have already fallen from the playoffs.

The teams that are still in the running for the playoffs can be seen playing with a sort of intensity, and those that realize they have little hope appear to play for the fun of the game.

Intramural basketball officially started Jan. 24, and since then, crowds composed of bystanders and friends alike have filled the bleachers to watch the games.

But some bystanders have been watching long before the season started, some like sophomore Jon Boudreau who said he knew it was almost basketball season before he even signed up to play.

“If you looked, you could see the guys who came into the gym two to three weeks early, that go to the gym just to play basketball everyday,” Boudreau said. “Just trying to relive their high school or grade school days,” Boudreau said.

Showing their skill in front of their friends was enough to get more than 365 men to sign up for basketball, which is the biggest intramural event the Student Recreation Center puts on. And show their skill is just what they do when they come to play.

“I scored eight points last game and that was my season high. I felt like I was on top of the world,” Boudreau said.

Even though he admitted his team lost, Boudreau was still content with the fact that he helped through the game. He was more than pleased with the recognition he got from his teammates, and even more pleased with himself.

From day one of sign-ups the website, eiu.imtrackonline.com, where students can sign their teams up was busy because of all the interest. Friends contacted each other quickly to try and put together their own amazing teams.

The rush to sign up was not easy for all, as a number of teams were placed on a waiting list for signing up at the last minute.

“The Rec Center sets up a ton of divisions on our online site, and this year there were so many teams that signed up that quite a few were put on a waiting list,” said Joey Eckardt, a sophomore applied engineering major and an employee at the Recreation Center since he came to Eastern.

The website sets up divisions with a set amount of six teams per divisions. This year however, there were so many teams that an extra division was set up for all the teams on the waiting list. That division consists of seven teams, not six.

“My team got put on one of those waiting lists, and I signed up a few days after the site opened for sign ups. It’s just crazy how many people come out and play, and even crazier how busy the Rec gets with people who just come and watch,” Eckardt said.

The gym gets pretty busy according to Eckardt, and with friends watching from the sidelines no one wants to blow their game, and no team wishes to be left in the dust.

Zachary White can be reached at 581-7944 or [email protected].