2008 Woodie Awards
With Fans in the Stands
Jack Owens, Professor of History
Issue date: 9/5/07 Section: Sports
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When women's soccer coach Allison Gibson was checking on the ISU program, the Portland State coach told her, "That is a tough place to play with fans in the stands."
OK, Bengal fans, you heard it from the opposition. If you want another Big Sky title in 2007 and a trip to the NCAA tournament, you need to flood the stands at every soccer match.
We need to be smarter fans, too.
The world's great fan groups know how to do three vital things: show solidarity with the team; help players maintain concentration; and sustain the team's defensive intensity.
Solidarity: This is as easy as it is important. Cheer the team as it enters and leaves the field.
Stand and cheer when the teams enter the field for pre-match introductions, and remain standing. When the visiting players are introduced, the ISU players clap twice after each name. Clap with them.
Sing the National Anthem, loudly. The song is about confronting danger in the face of terrible odds and winning. The effect on a home team can be amazing.
I was in Portugal in June 2005 for a crucial World Cup qualifier against a tough, skilled Slovakian squad. All day, in downtown Lisbon, people buzzed about how Portugal had to win if the country was to make it to the finals in Germany, and the excitement built as the crowds boarded the metro trains for the Stadium of Lights. The tension burst as the fans sang their national anthem, waving flags and holding up big scarves with their colors. You could see the Portuguese players absorb that enthusiasm, and they rolled over Slovakia 3-0.
Soccer players experience great pain when they give up a goal, especially at home. They need encouragement.
Perhaps we cannot duplicate the effect of 40,000 Liverpool fans rising to sing "You'll Never Walk Alone" (from the musical Carousel), but that solidarity helped their squad overcome a 0-3 halftime score in the 2005 European Championship to win the game. We can at least yell to our players that we are still with them even after an opponent scores.
OK, Bengal fans, you heard it from the opposition. If you want another Big Sky title in 2007 and a trip to the NCAA tournament, you need to flood the stands at every soccer match.
We need to be smarter fans, too.
The world's great fan groups know how to do three vital things: show solidarity with the team; help players maintain concentration; and sustain the team's defensive intensity.
Solidarity: This is as easy as it is important. Cheer the team as it enters and leaves the field.
Stand and cheer when the teams enter the field for pre-match introductions, and remain standing. When the visiting players are introduced, the ISU players clap twice after each name. Clap with them.
Sing the National Anthem, loudly. The song is about confronting danger in the face of terrible odds and winning. The effect on a home team can be amazing.
I was in Portugal in June 2005 for a crucial World Cup qualifier against a tough, skilled Slovakian squad. All day, in downtown Lisbon, people buzzed about how Portugal had to win if the country was to make it to the finals in Germany, and the excitement built as the crowds boarded the metro trains for the Stadium of Lights. The tension burst as the fans sang their national anthem, waving flags and holding up big scarves with their colors. You could see the Portuguese players absorb that enthusiasm, and they rolled over Slovakia 3-0.
Soccer players experience great pain when they give up a goal, especially at home. They need encouragement.
Perhaps we cannot duplicate the effect of 40,000 Liverpool fans rising to sing "You'll Never Walk Alone" (from the musical Carousel), but that solidarity helped their squad overcome a 0-3 halftime score in the 2005 European Championship to win the game. We can at least yell to our players that we are still with them even after an opponent scores.
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