Be a fan

(If I've got you thinking a Mulan song, we're already on the same page.)

I'm a crazy, obsessive and passionate sports fan.

Those of you who know me know how true this is. Be it a professional team, college squad, or any other sporting event I am cheering as loudly and passionately as I can.

I will not apologize for my passion. I may apologize if you don't like it and I definitely will apologize for some things I might say or do in the heat of the moment. I will not, however, apologize for wearing my heart on my sleeve.

In saying this, I also realize I could attract criticism for my passionate support of all things Samford. In not apologizing, I'm subjecting myself to those who don't like my personality. I understand, and I will never step away from those who question or criticize that aspect of me or change myself because of it.

All of this amounts to nothing if I keep it to myself. In my mind, passion is something that should be shared among like-minded people. I am only writing this post because I feel my passion is something that none or few of my Samford peers share.

I know I'm not the only one who likes Samford. I know I'm not the only one who likes Samford and shows up to its athletics events. I know for sure I'm not the only one who likes Samford and shows up to its athletic events because I want to support Samford's athletics program.

But sometimes it seems like I'm the only one out there showing any support for my Bulldogs. I admit student support for athletics has never been a strong point at Samford but I also admit that as my time here has grown, so has the support for our sports teams.

As exponentially as student body support for athletics has grown, it's far from the point where it should be at Samford. I am delighted that even when Step Sing, the biggest event on campus, is going on there are a thousand people in the Hanna Center. I'm even more thrilled when maybe a couple hundred of those thousand are students.

It becomes disappointing, however, when I am possibly the only person in the court to be shouting "De-fense! De-fense!" when the visiting team is attempting to tie the ball game. I know there are others in there who care, but I don't see it.

There is a fine line between being a spectator and a fan. A spectator shows up to a sporting event, may or may not care about the outcome and watches placidly. A fan, however, has a vested interest in the outcome of the match and does whatever he or she thinks might affect the match towards that interest's favor.

The people who show up to Samford games right now are mostly either spectators or occasional fans. I definitely have noticed those Samford students who will stand up, clap and yell during parts of games. I absolutely appreciate your enthusiasm.

However, there are still a majority of students who stand up, clap and yell only when there's a t-shirt toss or some kid shooting a layup during a time-out promotional. While those are commendable reasons to cheer they are certainly not the only reason.

Still others don't stand up, clap or yell at all, or if they do it is at their fraternity brother in another section of the stands or when they are in a heated discussion about something not pertaining at all to the reason they are there. Again, there are no issues in doing either of these as long as you're supporting your team just as much.

Some of you may ask what the point of being a fan is. First of all, you should be a fan because you chose Samford. You may have chose Samford because you're going to pharmacy school here or because your sister was SGA president. Some may have come here because of the pretty (painted) front lawn or because your parents are alumni that experienced the stereotypical Samford love story. Still others are here because a 3.4 GPA at Samford looks a lot better on a resume than a 3.4 at UAB.

The point is, whatever the primary reason, I'm sure there were others. If one of them was to be a part of Samford sporting games, be an active part of Samford sporting games. If it wasn't, then go study for your BP exam or work on your med school application. If you're here solely for academics, skipping a baseball game for a study session would only help you.

Too often I see people at Samford sporting events wearing an Alabama ball cap, an Auburn hoodie, an Ole Miss t-shirt or LSU sweatpants. If the college team you prefer isn't Samford, that's fine. Don't show up to a Samford game supporting that other team.

If you are supporting another school at a Samford event, it might people think you'd rather not be here. If that's the case, leave. If you can afford Samford, you can afford any one of those big-name state schools. If you're on scholarship at Samford, I guarantee you'd get just as much or more at all of the other places.

If it's simply matter of not owning any Samford gear, athletics marketing is constantly doing promotions and I bet would even give you a free shirt if you didn't have one and asked sincerely. If that's the case, you can e-mail me and I'll do what I can to make sure it happens.

Secondly, showing up as a fan instead of a spectator creates a common bond between you and the rest of the fans. One of my favorite sayings is "it may look stupid, but you're being stupid with everyone else." In other words, if everyone is together in passionate support, no one will judge you anyway.

You see it all the time with Alabama football or Kentucky basketball. Those fans do crazier stuff than a Samford student probably could imagine. But they've got anyone crimson-clad or blue-clad behind them (the exception being someone like a Harvey Updyke) so it doesn't matter.

I understand we're not Alabama or Kentucky. We don't have one national championship in our name in football or basketball, much less dozens. But we also have more community as a smaller school. The least we can do is group together and actively show our support as a community of Samford students.

Thirdly, being a fan is fun. It gives you a chance to let off the steam for that biology teacher that gave you an 89.7 B+ instead of rounding it up to an A- or whatever other issues you have pent-up inside you. I've heard the opinion from several sources that we at Samford don't know how to have fun. We take everything from our classes to our romantic relationships seriously, no matter what. It's time to silence the critics and tell them that we can have fun, and do it in a (generally) virtuous way.

Finally, the players love it when people support them in a fan-like way. They want us there being loud and crazy and psychologically, it's been proven that having supportive fans helps athletes perform better. Samford athletes have made it a point to commend me on my support, which is pretty cool not personally knowing a lot of these people outside of my Crimson work.

I take it as a personal offense to those that tell me to tone down my passion or that choose not to join in the fun. Only when one of those two occurrences happens am I prone to get even louder, crazier and belligerent than I know I should be. It's my way of compensating for the 500 bodies that aren't making supportive noise.

So be a fan, not a spectator. If nothing else, do it so you don't have to hear me screaming like a possessed Neanderthal. That's a worthy cause if ever there was one.