Elon athletics need support and spirited, cheering fans

Arianne N. Hamilton ‘03 / Letter to the  Editor

I graduated from Elon in May 2003. I am a huge football fan and was actually a football manager three out of the four years that I attended Elon. Just recently I was thinking of a way to get the fans more involved or to be more supportive of our players.

I noticed this while watching a Wake Forest basketball game the other night. There was a section of students that all had on some kind of tie-dyed yellow and black shirt representing Wake Forest. It caught my eye because I thought to myself, "Wow. Those students really stand out." I started thinking maybe there was a way to get our Phoenix fans to stand out during our sporting events. We have a new stadium, we're in a new conference, we just hired a new coach, now it's time to do something new for the fans as well.

I feel that the "all as one" shirts serve no purpose if the fans are not really supporting the players. I figured, that maybe for the first home game, perhaps the first 100 or 200 people could get free pom-poms, maroon and gold bangers, little maroon megaphones, etc. -- something that people would buy if their friends had one.

More females than males attend Elon, so I'm sure you would be able to capitalize off of almost any item. If they missed their chance to get a free item the first home game, the item could still be purchased at a low/reasonable price at the campus shop.

A pom-pom or plastic bangers could be used during all games -- rain or shine. T-shirts get covered up on breezy, rainy and cold days, not to mention they're not the cheapest item. So, we all miss the message. Also, I think that five pom-poms in comparison to 500 pom-poms makes a huge difference to our players. There's a more visual effect for them to see their friends and families waving something in honor of their hard work on that field -- something the visiting team will see as well.

Other schools even notice how "un-spirited" our school is. I think it's sad that a group of people from a visiting school can be noticeably louder and more visually supportive than our home side of the stadium. I am showing my concern as both an alumna and a significant other of someone who plays for the Elon football team.

Many people may not know just how important it is to the players to know that their peers are behind them 100 percent. Football may look like it's just a physical game to most people, but it is a game made up of both mental and physical components. Most of which are mental components; the physical components just help the players turn their thoughts into a reality. I think that Elon really needs to embrace that "All As One" principle and apply it to its athletics programs, including students, athletes, faculty and staff.

I am looking to start graduate school at UNC-G in the fall in order to get my master's in sports psychology. As a part of thinking of things to study from my experience of being a student at Elon, I thought that crowd participation may have an effect on game outcomes or the self-efficacy of the players. This led me to the idea of doing my part, taking the first step, and expressing my concerns to someone in a position to make things happen. Thoughts and ideas are only useful if they are actually brought to life and made a reality.

Do what you will with what I have said and the suggestions I have made. I honestly believe that campus-wide support and participation in the "All As One" campaign will help our athletes succeed. I look forward to attending many Phoenix athletic events in the near future and especially the upcoming fall football season. Hopefully some, if not all, of these suggestions will be taken into consideration. Thank you for your time.