Feb. 26, 2004

ATHENS, Ohio - When Daniel Arnold Lowe arrived on Ohio University's campus in the fall of 1999, he was just another freshman... until he went to his first Bobcat athletics event. In preparation for attending an Ohio football game with some of his new friends from Atkinson Hall, the 18-year-old journalism major painted his face and donned a self-made green and white wig, thus transforming himself into a fanatic know as "D-Lo" who would become the Bobcats' most avid fan over the following four years.

It didn't take long for Lowe to befriend many of the student-athletes he so loyally supported. Fresh off the varsity basketball squad at Northwest High School in Canal Fulton just outside of North Canton, the 6-foot-9-inch Lowe matched up against then-Bobcat redshirt transfer Jon Sanderson in a pickup game at the Ping Center.

According to Lowe, Sanderson dunked on him nine times throughout the course of the game. In the end, though, Lowe hit the game-winning shot and the two became friends from then on.

Lowe and his friends went to every home basketball game his sophomore year wearing Ohio basketball shirts and camouflage pants. They arrived early to claim the best seats in the student section and called themselves the Convocation Nation.

Walking through the Convocation Center one day during fall quarter of his junior year, Lowe noticed a flyer announcing a new student section featuring premium seating for the upcoming 2001-02 basketball season.

Despite heavy snowfall on a cold January morning, Lowe and his four companions - Bill Burke, Rob Metzger, Chris Walk and Matt Davis - waited five hours to become the first members to join the O Zone, a student section that would become the envy of every Mid-American Conference rival.

"The first thing I thought was that I had to be a part of this," said Lowe. "I was blown away when the entire courtside bleacher section was sold out in the first hour. It really showed me that other students were seriously behind the team and Ohio Athletics."

Despite being immersed in a sea of white O Zone shirts, Lowe quickly became the most recognizable figure in the group. His calling card became the "winning team/losing team" chant that signaled Bobcat victories were at hand.

In the final regular-season game of the 2001-02 season at The Convo, Lowe's old friend Sanderson made a steal and delivered a spectacular breakaway dunk just as the "winning team/losing team" chant was finishing. It was a special moment for Lowe.

"It was Senior Day for Jon and we had been giving him a hard time about not ever dunking at home," said Lowe. "When it happened, all I know is that my seat is in section seven and I ended up in section eight. Everyone was just going crazy jumping all over each other."

The following year, Lowe joined Burke and Matthew Thompson in front of the line for O Zone seats over 38 hours before the signup event started. They waited from 12:40 a.m. Saturday - virtually Friday night - until 2 p.m. on Sunday to show their enthusiasm for the coming season. They even had to wait an extra hour because daylight savings ended that Sunday morning.

"We tossed the football around, played cards and ran extension cords from The Convo so that we could plug in a TV and watch DVDs and play Playstation games," remembered Lowe. "We knew we didn't have to wait that long to be the first ones but it was just about doing it and we had fun."

They created a poster that read "Hours to O Zone" on which they crossed off every hour that passed while they waited. Between 20 to 30 friends stopped by to bring them food or to just hang out and each was able to sign the poster. Some of the names on the poster - which Burke still has - include former Ohio hoopsters Steve Esterkamp and Zach Kiekow and current Bobcat player Jeff Halbert.

During Lowe's senior season last year, he was more than glad to introduce the "winning team/losing team" chant to opponents like Akron, Kent State and Virginia in The Convo. His favorite moment, though, was when he debuted it at Gund Arena in Cleveland as Ohio closed out an overtime win against Miami in the MAC Tournament quarterfinals.

Upon his graduation last June, Lowe approached Ohio Athletics' marketing coordinator Luke Sayers about an internship. One was available and the athletics department knew it would have been foolish to turn down the biggest Bobcat fan in recent memory.

So now instead of sitting in the front row of the student section, Lowe sits on press row operating a $50,000 computer system that controls the new video boards. It is a skill that he hopes will translate into another position after his internship ends this spring.

"This has been a great opportunity for me, doing an internship for one year here at my alma mater and promoting and marketing the athletics programs here," said Lowe. "It's a great atmosphere, a great staff, and they've really given me the opportunity to learn from them and do a variety of tasks."

Since he would like to continue his career in college athletics, Lowe knows the skills he has learned and the contacts he has made will only help him in the future. For now, though, he is just trying to enjoy what may be his final year in Athens.

"I had a great time when I was here as an undergrad," said Lowe, "and I'm having a great time now helping with this administration."

Lowe hopes to reunite with a good friend this weekend as the Ohio men's basketball team hosts Marshall on Sunday. Sanderson is currently the strength and conditioning coach for the Thundering Herd.