I had an interesting experience at the home game against Austin Peay. I was asked to sit down by the people behind me so that they could see the game too. I was flabbergasted. There I was, in the second row of the student section, doing what I thought was appropriate behavior, and standing up and cheering for the basketball team I fell in love with on my arrival to Murray State.
I turned and told the young students that this is the student section. This is where we go to stand up and cheer on our Racers. We make noise. We encourage our team. We hassle the referees. We make the opposition uncomfortable with our level of rowdiness. At least this is what we did when I was here several years ago as a traditional student. But now, just two seasons later, I was asked by an user to sit down … in the student section … for a basketball game. That’s right. An usher told me to sit down at a basket ball game against our bitter rivals. I could tell he was uncomfortable with being charged with that tasked, so I saved my anger for the appropriate audience.
Allow me to excuse the students sitting in the section closest to the band. They did their jobs. They were on their feet for the majority of the game. They cheered for every point scored. They hassled the refs for every call, right or wrong. The people in my section however didn’t rise to their feet in support of the team until the final two minutes of the game. Sure they would stand up and cheer any time the cheerleaders were tossing out T-shirts, but as student sections go, this has to be the worst.
Where is the school spirit? Do you think the students at Cameron Indoor Stadium ever ask the people in front of them to sit down? How about the students at Rupp Arena? The KFC Yum! Center? The Winfield Dunn Center at Austin Peay? No! These fan bases actually understand the affect of a hostile crowd on the opposition, as well as the energy it can bring to your own team. I was appalled when I could hear the less than 100 fans from Austin Peay cheering for their team while our students sat on their behinds, chuickling to their friends about that fat guy standing in the front row, expending so much energy cheering for his team. We outnumbered their fans by a great number, and yet, they were the ones supplying the energy. “Let’s go Peay!” rang out from the rafters while our students sat comfortably in their chairs.
I have on request for these students – if you’re not going to come to the game to cheer on the team, don’t come to the game at all. Sit on your couch, watch the game on ESPN U and bring the team the same level of energy you brought that day. I’m glad we got the win. And I’m glad that you finally made your way to your feet when the game was on the line. But when you see the fat guy standing in front of you, cheering for his team, making noise, encouraging the players, hassling the referees, making the opposition uncomfortable, get on your feet Racer fans and join in!
Letter from Matthew Wilham.
