TAS: Crowd support is important
October 28, 1992
I saw something amazing last Thursday night and learned a lesson at the same time.
No, it wasn't the ghost of Elvis informing me that Atlantis did exist or anything like that. It happened in Hanner Fieldhouse as I watched the Lady Eagles go up against the Lady Moccasins of UT-Chattanooga.
The crowd on hand to watch the game numbered less than twenty--not counting the teams involved, but those people had as much to do with that game as any player on either team.
I have attended a few volleyball games this year at Hanner Fieldhouse and I have observed how small the crows usually is. It is usually made up of the same people every time, who either love to watch volleyball or know some of the players. I have also noticed how little these people get into the game. It is a rare occurrence to hear a cheer out of anyone except the volleyball players on the floor below.
That is what makes last Thursday such as amazing event. The Lady Eagles were treated to the cheers of their fans, and the ladies responded.
I am not sure exactly what caused the fans' spirits to rise, but I have a good guess. There were two spectators in attendance at Hanner who were cheering for the Lady Moccasins. Maybe we took it as a challenge that we would not be out-cheered at our place.
Whatever the reason, a few people began to chant and cheer our ladies on to victory, and it almost worked.
I have always heard that spirited fans help a team succeed, but I never truly saw it work. GSU began the match almost asleep, being beaten easily in the first game, but they battled back to win game two. Around this point, the crowd began to become a factor. Georgia Southern became a noticeably different team. The Eagles' hitting improved, their defense improved, and they played better than I have seen them play all year.
GSU was facing defeat in game four, down two games to one and also down by a score of 12 - 9. But the crows didn't give up on them and they came back with gutsy plays to even the match.
The Lady Eagles played their hearts out Thursday night to make the match an exciting one, but in the end they fell in defeat by the slimmest of margins. I would like to think that the enthusiasm of the crowd helped them, and I hope that it did.
But I wonder how the score would have been without the cheers. I also wonder why it took opposing fans to entice us to cheer for our team. Therein lies a lesson. Maybe we all felt compelled to rise above our complacency and show our team that we supported them and that we believed in them.
I for one was inspired and hope that this is a trend that will last into the future. We all need a little appreciation now and then.
I saw something amazing last Thursday night and learned a lesson at the same time.
No, it wasn't the ghost of Elvis informing me that Atlantis did exist or anything like that. It happened in Hanner Fieldhouse as I watched the Lady Eagles go up against the Lady Moccasins of UT-Chattanooga.
The crowd on hand to watch the game numbered less than twenty--not counting the teams involved, but those people had as much to do with that game as any player on either team.
I have attended a few volleyball games this year at Hanner Fieldhouse and I have observed how small the crows usually is. It is usually made up of the same people every time, who either love to watch volleyball or know some of the players. I have also noticed how little these people get into the game. It is a rare occurrence to hear a cheer out of anyone except the volleyball players on the floor below.
That is what makes last Thursday such as amazing event. The Lady Eagles were treated to the cheers of their fans, and the ladies responded.
I am not sure exactly what caused the fans' spirits to rise, but I have a good guess. There were two spectators in attendance at Hanner who were cheering for the Lady Moccasins. Maybe we took it as a challenge that we would not be out-cheered at our place.
Whatever the reason, a few people began to chant and cheer our ladies on to victory, and it almost worked.
I have always heard that spirited fans help a team succeed, but I never truly saw it work. GSU began the match almost asleep, being beaten easily in the first game, but they battled back to win game two. Around this point, the crowd began to become a factor. Georgia Southern became a noticeably different team. The Eagles' hitting improved, their defense improved, and they played better than I have seen them play all year.
GSU was facing defeat in game four, down two games to one and also down by a score of 12 - 9. But the crows didn't give up on them and they came back with gutsy plays to even the match.
The Lady Eagles played their hearts out Thursday night to make the match an exciting one, but in the end they fell in defeat by the slimmest of margins. I would like to think that the enthusiasm of the crowd helped them, and I hope that it did.
But I wonder how the score would have been without the cheers. I also wonder why it took opposing fans to entice us to cheer for our team. Therein lies a lesson. Maybe we all felt compelled to rise above our complacency and show our team that we supported them and that we believed in them.
I for one was inspired and hope that this is a trend that will last into the future. We all need a little appreciation now and then.
Labels: TAS
posted by David at 9:32 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home