SPORTS TALK:
Underrated fans provide excitement in sports
They are as important as any tenacious linebacker making a big hit or any ice-water-in-the-veins kicker trying for a clutch field goal. The football fan is as important to the game as any player in sports. Without them athletes are playing in empty stadiums with no motivation to drive their play. Adorning bleachers surrounding the gridiron every weekend, the fans dig in to take their part in the game. Sometimes the action in the stands is as exciting as what goes on in the field.
A prime example of excitement in the stands taking place can be seen right up the road at neighboring Sun Devil Stadium. Before Arizona State’s opening game against Northern Arizona on August 17, several ASU student fans lined up in the morning, hours before the seven o’clock kickoff just to be the first ones into the stadium for the new season. It was just a sign of things to come. The student section was filled with nothing but gold as college fans filed in eager to turn opening kickoff into a party.
From the moment Sun Devil quarterback Rudy Carpenter connected on his opening pass to tailback Rudy Burgess, the crowd let out a roar it would sustain for the remainder of the game. The Sun Devils, despite beating NAU, didn’t play particularly well, but I marveled at just how much energy the student fans gave to their team. Whether it was shadowing the mascot with pushups in the crowd, or confronting NAU students trying to make their way into the student section, the crowd made their presence known.
Across the country in schools big and small, the fans play a role as important as any other. The extreme fan fills at home in an environment where they can be themselves and live in the game.
The job of a fan is underrated and underappreciated, but absolutely vital to the success of any great team. Most of us won’t ever be professional athletes, but the need for great fans will never end. You can start right here at Mesa Community College. We have 16 athletic teams on campus comprised of outstanding athletes, so go cheer them on. Do you have what it takes to be a super fan?
Volume
44, Issue 3. Today is
Nick Kosmider