Denim Millward

Sports Editor

If you’re reading this article and you attended last week’s homecoming game, you had a marked effect on the game.

Maybe your fingerprints weren’t as indelible on the outcome as Mitch Beckstead or Cam Richmond’s were, but you, the fan, made a difference.

Too often, the influence the proverbial “12th man” known as the home crowd can have is overlooked.

We consider ourselves only as casual observers; supporters of ISU athletics who think crossing our fingers is the most potent method we have to turn the tide of a given contest in our favor.

Bengal Head Football Coach Mike Kramer and senior linebacker Mitch Beckstead both took up a majority of their brief post-game press conferences talking about how valuable having a loud and supportive throng of Bengal faithful was to them, even in an eventual defeat.

You may think Coach Kramer is too busy adjusting his game plan to notice the crowd. You may think Mitch Beckstead is far too occupied with racking up tackles and jumping routes to pay attention to volume of the Holt Arena crowd at any given moment.

You would be wrong.

There is a direct and clearly observable correlation between a boisterous crowd and the performances of the home and away teams.

No, having a sea of vociferous, chest-painted fans maintaining a perpetual ruckus the entire game can’t make up for a significant talent disparity; but in nail-biters like the one ISU narrowly lost, crowd noise and enthusiasm are far from negligible.

The effects are not limited to boosting the confidence and/or energy of the home team, either.

Crowd noise is largely responsible for false start penalties, as direct an effect on the game as possible.

Next time you don your best orange and black attire and make the pilgrimage to Holt Arena, don’t do so as mere casual observers. Show up with the attitude that you’re part of the team.