By Sarah V. Dailey
Think about football. What comes to mind? Touchdowns, tackles, and pigskin. There is one component that is often overlooked: the fans.
“I don’t think we can play a game without them,” University of Louisville wide receiver Deion Branch said. “They give a lot of support.”
The fans can be broken into three groups: the tailgaters, the students and those in the seats. Tailgating is a ritual preformed by many students and members of the community who like to come hours before the game, sitting in the parking lot grilling, having a cold beer and throwing around a football. One group of individuals who alone can represent the tailgating population are those that inhabit the “Red Bud Express.” Those who tailgate know who they are beacause of their big red bus that takes up about six parking spaces. Inside, Indiana natives Gerri Blocker, Cynthia Hatfield, Juile Martin, Candice Schroeder, Todd Schroeder and Mike Harrington, among others, travel across the Ohio river just to tailgate with the Cardinals.
“Tailgating is the best part, it increases the number of fans,” Martin, a 1998 U of L graduate, said. “We are not a football school, but we are trying and with tailgating we are getting there. The fans totally make the game.”
Back in Ô97, fans of all shapes and sizes would congragate together as one group at the old Cardinal Stadium. Now if you want to be with the rest of the crowd, you have to pay a lot of money to get special tickets and pay even more money to get a parking pass at Papa John’s. Students are tailgating at the old stadium while the alumni and the elite are parking at Papa John’s. The togetherness is lost, but the spirit of the fans remains consistent.
Which moves to the next set of fans: the students.
“We promote spirit thorughout the university and do all we can to help the team,” Ryan Harrington, President of the student spirit club, the ÔL Raisers’, said. Formerly known as ÔThe Red C,’ it was founded in Ô94 with 20 members; today, there are over 50. Together they represent the spirit and energy of the student body.
“Dedication,” Harrington said of one word that comes to mind when he thinks about the fans. “In the sense that you’re dedicated when the team isn’t doing all that good Ñ we know they’ll came back.”
Being a fan can get crazy at times. Kyle Wood, senior geography major and member of the L Raisers, once pretended he was a recruit so that he could go out onto the field and meet the coaches.
Last year, after the Cards won the Conference USA Championship, the fans were allowed to greet the team when they returned home and ended up tearing down the goal post while showing their enthusiasm.
Last, but not least, are the fans in the standsÐ members of the community who come out to cheer on their home team.
“I’ve always been a Cardinal fan,” Chad Augustine, a 2001 graduate, said. “I’m big on sports and I’m big on spirit.”
No one said it better than John Reeker, senior buisness management major and member of the ÔL Raisers’ about who and what fans really bring to UofL sports. “You come and root for your team and as athletes you draw your strength from the crowd.”
Football is just football, but it’s not Cardinal football without the fans.
