Northeastern (2,612) Built 1967
January 17, 2024: Anderson vs. Northeastern (Girls)
January 17, 2024: Anderson vs. Northeastern (Girls)
Northeastern earns a tie with Western for the lovely distinction of the most vague and unimpressive name of any school I've visited so far this year. What is it northeast of? We may never know! (I assume Wayne County, but would it kill them to at least be a little more specific if they aren't even going to try to be creative?) I took the long and winding road that is US-35 down towards the Ohio border for the second time in as many nights. It's one of my favorite main routes to take through the state because you never know what you are going to see around the next corner. It's really easy to get lost in the scenery. Northeastern is even a little more off the beaten path right before you reach Richmond. I even saw my first buggy ever on the way to a basketball game that wasn't in LaGrange or Elkhart county! Exciting stuff, I know! Just about as exciting as Northeastern's gym...
Northeastern suffers from a lot of the modern pitfalls that befall gyms built in the 60s and 70s that have been subjected to ill-advised remodels over the years. It has two small levels along each sideline. There are old green and yellow plastic bleachers on each side. The color scheme itself is one of the few things the gym has going for it. I'm a sucker for anything that close to John Deere hues. Right above the upper section of bleachers is a handpainted "Northeastern" on one side and "Knights" on the other. It's nothing fancy, but what's cool is that it's signed and dated underneath by the student who completed them many years ago. The playing floor is a weird mix of older looking fonts and logos with a modern two-tone finish. While I really like the classic font along the baseline with the curvy "Northeastern" written out, the whole conglomeration doesn't really jive together.
Each baseline wall has your standard small gym fare. One end has newer and boring athletic accomplishment banners for the various teams on one side. On the other side of the wall is a nice little jersey display of past basketball greats from the school. In the middle is probably the best feature in the whole gym, a mural of a knight riding a noble steed while wielding a large lance. The coloring and finish on it looks really cool to me, but an art critic I am not. The opposite baseline wall honors the two Indiana All-Stars from the school's past next to a generic but well put together team display for the Tri-Eastern conference. That's about all there is to write home about in the Larry Moore Gymnasium.
I brought my 3 year old son with me to the game tonight. It was a pretty small crowd on hand which is expected when the game is played on a Wednesday night between two teams over an hour away. This suited us just fine as he was able to clamber around the bleachers with excitement while he pretended he was on an adventure between randomly cheering for either team to "make a hoop." He had fun and I was able to watch a good game. It reminded me that a gym doesn't have to blow you away and that the crowd doesn't have to be raucous in order to enjoy a high school basketball game. My son and I had a great time together, and that's all that really mattered tonight.
