TAS: Get off your butts, please
November 11, 1992
Sitting in the dark at the newspaper office leads people to reflect upon a few things, like the apparent student apathy towards the football team this year.
It's sort of a strange thing. Traditionally the football team here at Georgia Southern has always received more support than other sporting groups due to their tremendous success. But, success can breed complacency.
The average home game attendance this year is 14,360. Now, that may sound like a lot but one must delve a little deeper and see that number as it really is.
Most of the people that fill up that 14,000-plus number are people sitting on the home side of Paulson and visitors, and since I work for a student newspaper I choose to ignore all of them. (They don't read my column anyway.) I will direct my remarks to the students.
One would expect last Saturday's Homecoming game would boast a crowd of students, right? Well, only half right. The student section was more packed than I have seen it all year, but it took until the second quarter to fill up. Then, when I checked again during the third quarter, I noticed patches of empty seats begin to appear. Why has everyone bailed out on the Eagles?
Surely its not due to last season's disappointing season is it? (Is 7 - 4 really that disappointing anyway?) The Eagles have proved that they are not the same team that they were last year. GSU has compiled a 7 - 2 record so far this year, which is the same number of wins they had last year. They have three shutout games to their credit so far this year, a modern era record.
The problem stems from apathy. It is a natural human tendency to make a little success go a long way. People think that because the GSU football program has risen so far so fast that they are somehow predestined to win. If only that were true.
When Dr. Dale Lick became president of Georgia Southern College in 1978, one of the most asked questions was "Why don't we have a football team?" Dr. Lick became dedicated to acquiring a team for GSC and worked many hard years until November of 1981 it was officially decided that a college football team would once again call Statesboro its home for the first time in forty years.
Then Erk Russell accepted the challenge of building a team out of nothing. His first few teams didn't even have equipment., but they did have desire. Naturally they suffered losing seasons, but fans were just happy to have a team.
The Eagles justified all of the fans' patience by molding their program into one of the most consistent and successful athletic programs in the country. We, as students of Georgia Southern, should remember the humble beginnings of Eagle football and the heights that it has taken not only itself, but our entire school.
Tim Stowers and his group of Eagles are no less a part of the Georgia Southern tradition. Every week the Eagles work hard and succeed, not only for themselves but also for the glory of their school. They deserve support for all of the intense effort they give.
Get off your butts. It's the least we can do.
Sitting in the dark at the newspaper office leads people to reflect upon a few things, like the apparent student apathy towards the football team this year.
It's sort of a strange thing. Traditionally the football team here at Georgia Southern has always received more support than other sporting groups due to their tremendous success. But, success can breed complacency.
The average home game attendance this year is 14,360. Now, that may sound like a lot but one must delve a little deeper and see that number as it really is.
Most of the people that fill up that 14,000-plus number are people sitting on the home side of Paulson and visitors, and since I work for a student newspaper I choose to ignore all of them. (They don't read my column anyway.) I will direct my remarks to the students.
One would expect last Saturday's Homecoming game would boast a crowd of students, right? Well, only half right. The student section was more packed than I have seen it all year, but it took until the second quarter to fill up. Then, when I checked again during the third quarter, I noticed patches of empty seats begin to appear. Why has everyone bailed out on the Eagles?
Surely its not due to last season's disappointing season is it? (Is 7 - 4 really that disappointing anyway?) The Eagles have proved that they are not the same team that they were last year. GSU has compiled a 7 - 2 record so far this year, which is the same number of wins they had last year. They have three shutout games to their credit so far this year, a modern era record.
The problem stems from apathy. It is a natural human tendency to make a little success go a long way. People think that because the GSU football program has risen so far so fast that they are somehow predestined to win. If only that were true.
When Dr. Dale Lick became president of Georgia Southern College in 1978, one of the most asked questions was "Why don't we have a football team?" Dr. Lick became dedicated to acquiring a team for GSC and worked many hard years until November of 1981 it was officially decided that a college football team would once again call Statesboro its home for the first time in forty years.
Then Erk Russell accepted the challenge of building a team out of nothing. His first few teams didn't even have equipment., but they did have desire. Naturally they suffered losing seasons, but fans were just happy to have a team.
The Eagles justified all of the fans' patience by molding their program into one of the most consistent and successful athletic programs in the country. We, as students of Georgia Southern, should remember the humble beginnings of Eagle football and the heights that it has taken not only itself, but our entire school.
Tim Stowers and his group of Eagles are no less a part of the Georgia Southern tradition. Every week the Eagles work hard and succeed, not only for themselves but also for the glory of their school. They deserve support for all of the intense effort they give.
Get off your butts. It's the least we can do.
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posted by David at 6:45 PM
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