Friday, Sept. 17, a crowd of nearly 700 Virginia fans, largely students, gathered to watch the women's volleyball team take on Virginia Tech in what was to be a five set nail-biter ending in a 15-13 loss for the Cavaliers. Fast forward 24 hours, where 80-100 fans - most of whom were non-students - watched the Virginia ladies sweep George Mason. It was a beautiful game, with our girls in near perfect form, as players such as McKenzie Adams and Simone Asque basically led a clinic on spiking. Almost no one was here to see this amazing display of athleticism. Why? Well, there was a men's soccer game that night, but we doubt that this accounted for all 600 missing fans. The only other difference was that Friday night's game was a Hoo Crew event. We applaud the Hoo Crew for its efforts to convince students to attend sports other than the "big two" (football and men's basketball, but you already knew that). Might we humbly suggest that bribery is not the best way to ensure long-term success of the athletic program nor encourage the formation of a loyal fan base? For those of you who don't know what we're talking about, head to a non-Hoo Crew volleyball, field hockey or soccer game and see what we mean. If you've been, you know, and we want you to help us change that.
Attending athletic events can substantially influence the outcome of a game - most notably through the home-field advantage. Case in point: the Wahooligans, who, more than any other crowd we know, positively affect the game for our team. From special cheers to singling out players on the other team to "discourage," the Wahooligans represent the epitome of what a student crowd can do to a game. Although the incident at the Wake Forest match is certainly lamentable, we appreciate and respect the fervor it represents in the crowd. The men's soccer team knows they have a loyal fan base, which helped propel them to the NCAA championship last year. Imagine how other University teams could perform with this kind of fanatical support. Anyone who has played sports in front of a crowd knows the motivation and drive that this audible enthusiasm brings to the athletes. The presence of an audience almost always improves the performance of the competitors in question - usually in a subconscious way. We know our athletes give all they have to bring pride, trophies and titles to the University, but the encouragement and urging of benevolent onlookers can allow them to dig deeper than they previously thought possible.
Looking to the future of these sports, a loyal fan base helps an athletic program on more than just a game by game basis. When prospective student athletes come to check out University and other schools, a deciding factor may be "will my talent be appreciated?" It's much easier for them to answer this question in the affirmative when throngs of students sing the "Good Ol' Song" in a "sea of orange" after a win and especially after a loss. Yes, our teams lose occasionally and although it's difficult for fans to stomach, it is much worse for our athletes. It will be easier for them to rebound and succeed when they know that they'll still have a crowd of hundreds of fans cheering them on next game. So go to the games. And keep going. We know you're super busy - we all are. We don't expect you to attend every University sporting event - it's physically impossible. Check the schedule. But we do expect you to find a team here at the University that you care about, for whatever reason, and become a regular attendee - one our fellow students can count on. We chose volleyball because it's awesome, but other sports are awesome too. Most of our favorite sporting moments are not from football or even basketball. So come sit with us Oct. 1 and cheer on the girls against Georgia Tech, or go to field hockey and cheer them on to beat Maryland. Maybe field hockey will become to you what volleyball has to us. Either way, get out and support our underappreciated teams. Wahoowa!
Daniel and Alex are second-year students in the Engineering School and College, respectively.
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