Lucas Gebhart
Sports Editor
I was sitting in the press box just before kickoff of the Western Oregon game when Luke O’Roark of the Post Register, who was covering his first Idaho State football game, asked me where the student section was.
I pointed to an area below where a small group of students had gathered. About half were standing and by the time halftime rolled around, the majority were sitting.
I’m going to be as straight forward with this as I possibly can. Stop doing that. It’s not as much fun.
Stand up, support your school and show a little school spirit. I mean, for God’s sake, your school won by 31 points last week and all I saw was a student section that couldn’t care less about it.
Look at where the student section is, literally above the visiting team’s bench, so trust me when I say that they can hear you.
Don’t be afraid to tell number 12 that his girlfriend is ugly or gently remind number 81 that he dropped a pass. Talk a little trash, that’s why football games are fun and that’s what a student section is supposed to do.
Tell the referee that he missed a hold, tell number 24 that he’s in for a long mother f-ing day, tell the benchwarmers that they need to have water ready for the next timeout. Tell the quarterback he throws like a child or tell the kicker that he is going to miss the kick wide to the left.
Things like that may or may not have an impact on the game but even if they don’t it will make your game day experience so, so much better.
The thing I miss the most about attending games as a fan, instead of the media is this very thing.
I remember when I was going to Colorado State games growing up, my friends and I would go down to the first row of the corner of the end zone and talk.
The Rams were playing Boise State one game and we were harping on the nearside corner the entire game. Boise State rolled Colorado State in that game, but we didn’t care; we were having fun. When the Rams finally scored a touchdown, one of my friends pretended to storm the field and after the game that corner for Boise State came up to us and gave up a high-five for how good of fans we were.
I wouldn’t be as fired up about this if the Bengals lost on Saturday, but they didn’t. They won by 31. But you wouldn’t know it by watching the student section.
My high school had a better student section than this. Not only was it sometimes bigger, but the students were acting as if they wanted to be there.
My high school student section was voted best student section in the state my senior year by a local news station.
Why? Because we talked trash, read the school newspaper when the visiting team was being introduced and threw baby powder before we played our cross-town rival whose nickname was the Lambkins – which is a freshly born baby sheep.
We would count the missed baskets as the visiting team warmed up for basketball games, we had chants for football games and above all else, we stood up.
Make a sign that says, “Portland isn’t a state.”
Mock the Weber State fight song by saying, “Weber State, Weber State, sucks, sucks, sucks.”
It’s not hard to have fun during a football game, yet it seems like the Idaho State student section has somehow managed to do it.
So, I dare you. Get a little drunk, get a little rowdy and have a little fun.
