Wolf Pack fever a slow burn in Carson City

It's March, so where is the madness?

A trip through town checking out the reader boards can sometimes gauge a community's psychological state. The board at the Hardman House politely suggests that "SPRING IS IN THE AIR."

There's an ad for "Home Again" implantable microchips for dogs at the Silver Hills Pet Hospital. A type of madness, perhaps, but these are not the seeds of a community blooming with support for the class of the Western Athletic Conference in its bid for a national title.

Bumper stickers can also be telltale. Yellow ribbons to support our troops? By all means. "Nader 2000." Good luck.

Where are the Nevada Wolf Pack novelty foam hands? The bumper stickers? The pull-string clapping hats? The pennants? The embroidered sweatshirts? The antenna balls? The trailer hitch covers? The Tiffany-style executive table lamps?

There's all the verve and fever in the air of a minor league soccer exhibition.

A call to the patient information line at Carson-Tahoe Hospital, Wednesday, confirms suspicions grounded in a day's search of the city's sports bars and sporting goods stores.

There's no record of anyone checking into the hospital with a case of "March Madness" and the potential for a local epidemic seems slim, unless perhaps the Wolf Pack make it into the later rounds.

While in some parts of the country, fans embrace their team with the tenacity of a rusty bear trap, Wolf Pack fever is anything but ensnaring. Not one local sports bar even has a Nevada-themed party planned for the game tonight.

Big 5 Sports doesn't sell Nevada Wolf Pack gear. They suggest Champ's in Reno or going to down to the college itself.

"I think that lot of people aren't used to the recent success the Pack has had," said Tom Armstrong, Carson City deputy district attorney and University of Nevada alum. "I think it catches a lot of people off guard. There are a lot of people who haven't lived here for that long, who haven't followed the down years long enough to appreciate the recent up years."

While the UNR men's basketball team dribbles onto the national stage in Indianapolis, Ind., today at 4 p.m. against Texas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the countdown seems to have begun in earnest, at least in Carson City.

Howard Hurlbut of Sparks sports a Nevada hat while sipping a bottle of beer at Casino Fandango.

"Yeah, I'm not worried about Texas," he says, setting his thoughts as he slowly swallows his drink. "It's (No. 1 seed) Illinois that's got me nervous."

Deputy District Attorney Armstrong is more cautious. "I'm not going to say that they'll definitely beat Texas," he says. "They have to keep the game at half-court and down low."

Madness.

n Contact reporter Peter Thompson at pthompson@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1215.