See if this scenario applies to you: When Fanatic tickets first went on sale toward the end of September you decided to wait and buy them later. Maybe you didn't yet have $85 in your budget, or maybe you were just straight up lazy. Now that basketball season has begun you're thinking, "Oh yeah, I should get those sometime."

Well, I got some news for all the cheap procrastinators out there. The athletic department has put up the proverbial "Sold Out" sign on its front door.

This column originally started out as a rant against "The Man" demanding Marquette open up more seats for the student section. Sure, the athletic department would have to take seats away from season ticket holders and lose some money, but it should care more about its students than a little extra cash.

My mind quickly changed when I actually spoke with somebody in the athletic department and heard this alarming statistic: 71 percent of Fanatics attended fewer than half the games. Only high profile games on ESPN ever draw enough students to completely fill the Fanatic section.

Associate Athletic Director Craig Pintens said he expects the Wisconsin game to be filled, but even a big home game, such as the Jan. 31 battle against Georgetown will lack some Fanatics.

"It will be a popular game with many students, but history shows us the section won't totally fill," Pintens said.

Pintens said 4,000 Fanatic packets were sold this year. Despite any rumors you may hear from the disgruntled and ticketless, that's the same number that was sold the last couple years.

Pintens said the number of students turned down was actually quite small and the athletic department probably sold about the right number of Fanatic packets.

Changing gears to something a little dorkier, when the Xbox 360 was first released three years ago, I camped out in line. Overnight. In a tent. For 10 hours. I was the fifth person at Circuit City to get Microsoft's newest toy. That's dedication to having no friends.

When College Game Day came to Marquette two years ago, I did the same thing and sat three rows from the court. That's dedication to being a Fanatic.

So when Fanatic tickets go on sale, you better believe I buy them the moment they are available. If I want something bad enough I won't risk being the one left empty-handed.

Of the 4,000 packets sold, over half were gone by the end of the first day. They were completely sold out in the first week of November, Pintens said.

"We have one of the largest student sections in the country. It provides one of the best environments for home games," Pintens said. "But one of our biggest battles is when a game is sold out we still might only get 2,500 students there. We want it full on a consistent basis."

Adam Stout, a senior in the College of Education and self-described Marquette basketball aficionado, said he thinks it's a tough situation because there will be a lot of students who later want to go to big games, but won't be able to.

"Ultimately though, the responsibility falls on the students. I bought my tickets no more than twenty minutes after I got the e-mail from the athletic department because I know they go quickly, and I was just excited about the season," Stout said.