A message to the Blue Crew — this is your time to show your AU pride. It’s November. Besides the crisp autumn days and turkey, November also means Patriot League playoffs.
With strong regular seasons, three of AU’s teams are lined up to host the playoff rounds. Field hockey will be here this weekend for the Patriot League Tournament, volleyball is guaranteed to host if the team is able to beat Army on Saturday and men’s soccer has a chance to host if the team is able to defeat first-place Colgate University on the road this Saturday.
And while I’ve never been here for a playoff series and I don’t know what it’s like to be at a collegiate final, I know that the dismal showings from the fans this year won’t be satisfactory for the postseason.
Think of it this way, if we had a 12th-ranked football team here, pretty much all of the student population would show up to the games. So why aren’t we all going to watch the field hockey team?
Yes, I’ll admit it, prior to this year, I knew nothing about field hockey. But that hasn’t stopped me from going to the games. The same goes for volleyball. I’d barely been to any of the games back at my high school — I just didn’t take the time to watch.
My question is this: If we can fill the Bender Arena stands at the Bender Blue Out match, why can’t we keep the same amount of fans at all of our games? Our field hockey team is one of the best in the country — we’ve lost to two top-20 teams and the best team in the nation, but we still can’t fill Jacobs Field with student fans.
Volleyball hasn’t lost a game at home, but I couldn’t tell you how many students on campus actually know that. Men’s soccer has gone to three straight double-overtime finishes at home, but the stands at Reeves field are half-filled, mostly with parents.
It’s rather embarrassing to be taking pictures at the games and hear the visiting parents more than I hear AU fans. Where is our school pride? Where are the clever chants aimed at opposing players? Where are the nicknames given to our craziest fans and our favorite players? Where’s the body paint and vuvuzelas? I know we’ve got them on campus — I hear them every Saturday night at 3 a.m. Why are we so afraid to use them to cheer on our school’s sports teams?
This is the time of the month when we should all be gearing up to get crazy — not in the Halloween-weekeend-let’s-go-out-and-party crazy — but the crazy when we make a statement to all other teams that we’re a force to be reckoned with. I want other teams to dread coming to D.C. the way that almost every basketball team dreads facing the Cameron Crazies at Duke University. I want us to be the loudest arena that teams have ever heard.
We know that the players feed off it. When there are more fans at the games, the players get a certain electricity. Who wouldn’t? Think back to the Bender Blue Out when volleyball took on George Mason University. The electricity from that game was ridiculous.
So why can’t we do that for an entire season? Step it up, AU. Let’s make this November one to remember. It’s time for all of the Blue Crew members to unite together and cheer on their teams. These players need and deserve your support on the field. Don’t be afraid to pull out your Blue Crew T-shirts and let loose this weekend.
Our field hockey team is one of the best in the nation — make them feel like it. This team has got the potential to go far in the NCAA tournament, so let’s send them away with the confidence to get them there.
Volleyball and soccer deserve the same treatment — let’s make them feel like champions if we host their tournaments too.
So this is my call to you Blue Crew: Step up your game this month and finally make your presence felt at the games.
sports@theeagleonline.com
