Sports | Basketball

In Focus: Fake fans in the stands

By Caitlin Buckley / Staff Photographer

“Loyal Lion” cutout program brings famous faces and fans to an empty gym.

By Caitlin Buckley • February 11, 2022 at 3:31 AM

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Photo by Caitlin Buckley / Staff Photographer

A Columbia Facilities employee sits among the cutouts during Columbia women’s basketball’s win against Cornell on January 20, 2022. Due to University policy, no spectators were allowed at the game.

Photo by Caitlin Buckley / Staff Photographer

Members of the Columbia women’s basketball team stand for the national anthem. Cardboard cutouts of Columbia alumni, employees, and fans fill the stands.

Photo by Caitlin Buckley / Staff Photographer

University policies then shifted, allowing a limited number of people on a pass list to attend the games. Many of the cutouts remained in the stands.

Photo by Caitlin Buckley / Staff Photographer

Kaitlyn Davis was named Ivy League Player of the Week, notching 16 points and 12 boards for the Lions in the team’s 61-56 victory against Penn on Jan. 26, 2022. In the background, a cutout of New England Patriots owner and Columbia alumnus Robert Kraft is next to one of former president Theodore Roosevelt, who attended Columbia Law School.

Photo by Caitlin Buckley / Staff Photographer

Kitty Henderson, a first-year guard from Australia, scored 10 points for Columbia in the team’s come-from-behind win against Penn to continue the team’s winning streak.

Photo by Caitlin Buckley / Staff Photographer

Cardboard cutouts of fans, University employees, and prominent Columbia alumni lined the sidelines while Columbia and Penn women's basketball played in front of a limited crowd.

Photo by Caitlin Buckley / Staff Photographer

Columbia men’s basketball suffered a 81-66 loss to Penn on Feb. 4, 2022, the team’s fifth consecutive defeat.

Photo by Caitlin Buckley / Staff Photographer

Columbia men’s basketball team played to a limited crowd on Feb. 4, 2022. On Feb. 7, the capacity restrictions were lifted. Currently, any spectator with proof of vaccination against COVID-19 can attend games at Columbia.