Take a good, hard look at the student sections at Michigan, Notre Dame and Nebraska football games. Watch what they do – how they act, how they cheer. Now take a good, hard look at ours.
See the difference?
Since I became a student at Mississippi State in 2008, it has troubled me we don’t have a student section – or a fan base in general – that consistently makes our home venues tough places to play. (Before I go any further, don’t misconstrue this with me saying I don’t like our fan base because that couldn’t be further from the truth. I love our fan base.)
However, there needs to be something more – something that makes us unique. Right now, we don’t have it because right now, we don’t know how to cheer. What transpired this past weekend ultimately culminated into this article, but it’s been a recurring theme since I’ve been a student here.
I currently serve as the public address announcer for the MSU softball team, and, during the series with Tennessee, something irked me.
That Saturday afternoon, we packed the stadium. There was not a seat available and people lined the outfield wall. It had all the makings to be a memorable atmosphere for our fans and players.
It never became that.
I noticed people looking around when others were cheering with a look of, “What do I do next?” People didn’t know how or what to cheer. I’m not picking on just the softball fans because this has been consistent of our fans in almost every sport.
In football, we’re steadily getting better, and I love how much has changed since 2008. Excitement is at an all-time high, and I couldn’t be happier with the direction in which things are headed.
In basketball, baseball, softball and other sports, I can’t say the same.
I’m not saying you have to do everything the 12th man does or everything the Cameron Crazies and the Izzone do. But I am saying you need to cheer as loud as you can for the duration of the game. There’s no reason we can’t make every venue we have the loudest, hardest place to play in the country.
We have 55,082 seats at Davis Wade Stadium that are now filled every Saturday. We have 10,200 seats at Humphrey Coliseum that are right on top of the court. We have the nicest and arguably the most historic college baseball stadium in Dudy-Noble.
Make these even better than what they are.
To student groups like Rick’s Rowdies in the past: keep cheering, but don’t isolate yourselves to where it makes others not want to cheer. To everyone else: cheer anyway. I promise you’re not too cool to do it.
If I wanted to sit down for an entire basketball game, I’d stay at home and watch it. We reunited the student section at the Hump. Take advantage of that and buy into what the athletic department is trying to do.
Do this at every athletic event. Get to the field or arena early and cause hell for the opposing team. That’s what makes college athletics so much fun – the pageantry, the emotions and the student sections.
Don’t feel like you can only cheer when we play Kentucky in basketball or Alabama or LSU in football. Even if we’re playing a Division II team in basketball or a Football Championship Subdivision school in football, pack the arena or field and create the same atmosphere you would for the big games.
The sign behind Dudy-Noble Field says, “Home to College Baseball’s Greatest Fans.” That isn’t limited to just baseball, though. We have the greatest fans in the country, period.
Show everyone why we deserve that title.