Being a Fan - Advice Please

[Mestengo]

With a smaller student body and decades of lost younger fans, we have a larger % of older fans.

All fans are welcome and needed, but some will bring more energy and help the fan base grow while others will be more reserved and be more content seeing their same group each game and will feel threatened by change and newcomers.

Those with a little more get-up-and-go need to respectfully get the big s-stick out and stir the pot.

I don't think the author of this post grew up in Dallas. It was unheard of for anyone to stand up a SMU or Cowboys games for years except on big 3rd down or after scores. I think one reason our crowds were more reserved is because there was no liquor served near the Cotton Bowl except for beer during State Fair time.

So where are your seats Pa Pa??

[Topper]

Club level. Pretty sedate up there.

[BIGHORSE]

The easy solution is mark the upper sections as "casual" sections, and the lower sections as "active" sections. If you don't like standing, yelling, or get angry that someone drops the A-word (@$$) within 4 rows of your precious little girl teenager (who says that all day at school anyway), then move to the top section.

Don't be sending any of those cranky folks to Section 203. We stand and yell all we want. Guys in front of us have a big flag they wave all game we all love it.

We might be the guys in front of you with the flag.

[mathman]

The easy solution is mark the upper sections as "casual" sections, and the lower sections as "active" sections. If you don't like standing, yelling, or get angry that someone drops the A-word (@$$) within 4 rows of your precious little girl teenager (who says that all day at school anyway), then move to the top section.

Don't be sending any of those cranky folks to Section 203. We stand and yell all we want. Guys in front of us have a big flag they wave all game we all love it.

We might be the guys in front of you with the flag.

One of the guys wore a horse head the whole game last year. Hilarious.

[Dutch]

the horse heads are funny, but very creepy at the same time.

[peruna11]

Glad to know this is going on elsewhere, and it is not just an apathy unique to SMU.

A frog friend sent this to me after we talked about what's going on in Ford.

http://www.killerfrogs.com/msgboard/index.php?showtopic=121031&st=0

[southerncomfort]

fivemon wrote:what got really annoying were some students came into the lower part of 104 and sat in some lower seats and started yelling at the players they knew and would stand on every play, i am all for standing on 3rd down or on big plays (and almost always do), but for how much i paid for tickets i didn't pay to have students standing in front of me

The students (alum and former trainers) who were sitting with alum Rock Dennis and Kellis Cunningham? Yeah, sorry about that, we know we were [deleted] people off behind us - that's why Rock and Kellis left since they thought it was kind of ludicrous that people were telling us to sit down. They were quite disappointed with the lack of participation and any kind of cheering. And you're right, we aren't exactly in those seats but we now know better than to be sitting in the wrong, boring area so don't worry about us being there next time.

[Alysa]

That's why I never sit on that side. I'm still a cheerleader who likes to stand and cheer. I've always hated stuffy suites. I want to be where there is more energy so I always sit left of the band.
For about 2 quarters we had a group of beautiful children who cheered on SMU. They were a large group that arrived late and left early. They were great while they were there.
I brought 3 women with me and my friend next to me and I would cheer. My other two friends sat next to each other and talked.

I remember standing in the past but they were winning then.

[theapache]

I'm on the East Side in section 124, row 17. My family and I have no problems with anyone who wants to be loud, as we tend to be vocal. Come on over.

[southerncomfort]

I think we will try exploring new sections around Ford. For me, that was my first football game not working on the sideline. I thoroughly enjoyed the game but the experience was not quite what I was thinking it might be. I honestly had more fun at Texas Tech cheering at the endzone.

[peruna11]

My "long term" seats will remain in 106 for now, but at least 6 of our 12 will be on the east side for WSU. I would love to see at least a pretty full lower section of fans like us, who want to cheer loudly and be on their feet for most, if not all of the game.

With such a small fan base to begin with, it would be great to see sections of loud fans & young alumni branching out around the student section and band. That area is the heartbeat of crowd noise, and growing it is our only hope to create a home field advantage.

I am really proud of our student section both at Tech and vs UAB. Things are changing, and I look forward to helping them out this week.

At least we are finally at a point where we are experiencing these growing pains.

[UHCoog27]

Not that you asked for it, but the perspective of a visitng fan.

I love the design and ammenities of Ford Stadium. Classy look and, in my experience, a very helpful stadium staff. That said, going to a game there is a strange experience. Your fans aren't positive and cheerful; your fans aren't negative and mouthy. (As a Cougar, I know plenty about the latter.) Your fans just kind of sit there. A very demure bunch.

I'll be making my third trip up there this season. Prove me wrong!

Looking forward to a good game between our two schools.

[Longtime]

The easy solution is mark the upper sections as "casual" sections, and the lower sections as "active" sections. If you don't like standing, yelling, or get angry that someone drops the A-word (@$$) within 4 rows of your precious little girl teenager (who says that all day at school anyway), then move to the top section.

This is pretty much how it is, without the labels. It's like at a major league baseball game. If you want to be obnoxious and stand the whole game, you know to sit in the bleachers. I think this will sort itself out over time at SMU games as our fan base grows and solidifies.

At SMU games, if you're going to stand the whole game and make noise beyond reacting to big plays, go sit over on the student side. You will be happier and the people on the pressbox side will be happier. It's just that easy. There's a place for everyone at a college game -- and plenty of room. Not everyone should have to follow the same decorum. Your right to stand and scream nonstop for four hours is the same right as the person who wants to have a pleasant gamewatching experience.

It takes a lot for some people to stand up, or to stand for long stretches. When I was in my 20s, no problem. Now, with bad knees and a sore back, I'm not so quick to jump up anymore. I like the fact I can sit during a game. Fortunately with the new videoboard, I can still watch plays when people jump up in front of me, but that isn't always the case.

Part of the problem, too, is all the lulls in action at a college football game. The endless media timeouts, commercials on the video board, etc. It's not like there's non-stop action and energy. I stand up and cheer when it will help the team. If I'm standing and screaming or blowing a horn during a timeout or other lull in the action, then I'm really only entertaining myself. That's fine if you're near the student section, where obnoxious behavior should be a requirement for all college age people.

I have no problem with kids being kids, or even older people acting like kids, as long as they're in the kids' section. Same goes for the blue hairs - stay out of the student section, you old goats!

[Topper]

The easy solution is mark the upper sections as "casual" sections, and the lower sections as "active" sections. If you don't like standing, yelling, or get angry that someone drops the A-word (@$$) within 4 rows of your precious little girl teenager (who says that all day at school anyway), then move to the top section.

This is pretty much how it is, without the labels. It's like at a major league baseball game. If you want to be obnoxious and stand the whole game, you know to sit in the bleachers. I think this will sort itself out over time at SMU games as our fan base grows and solidifies.

At SMU games, if you're going to stand the whole game and make noise beyond reacting to big plays, go sit over on the student side. You will be happier and the people on the pressbox side will be happier. It's just that easy. There's a place for everyone at a college game -- and plenty of room. Not everyone should have to follow the same decorum. Your right to stand and scream nonstop for four hours is the same right as the person who wants to have a pleasant gamewatching experience.

It takes a lot for some people to stand up, or to stand for long stretches. When I was in my 20s, no problem. Now, with bad knees and a sore back, I'm not so quick to jump up anymore. I like the fact I can sit during a game. Fortunately with the new videoboard, I can still watch plays when people jump up in front of me, but that isn't always the case.

Part of the problem, too, is all the lulls in action at a college football game. The endless media timeouts, commercials on the video board, etc. It's not like there's non-stop action and energy. I stand up and cheer when it will help the team. If I'm standing and screaming or blowing a horn during a timeout or other lull in the action, then I'm really only entertaining myself. That's fine if you're near the student section, where obnoxious behavior should be a requirement for all college age people.

I have no problem with kids being kids, or even older people acting like kids, as long as they're in the kids' section. Same goes for the blue hairs - stay out of the student section, you old goats!

I have the same diagnosis as pro golver Phil Mickelson. Psoriatric Arthritis. Very difficult to stand up and very painful to stand for a prolonged time. Fortunately I sit in the club level where the crowd goes more for comfort than rowdiness. I was very rowdy when I was an undergrad, but many of us are either old or can't do the things we used to do. There is plenty of room in the student section for those who want that experience and I say good for you. But please don't criti cize those of us who just can't do it anymore. Many of us, and Im not a senior citizen yet, just feel like one, have given to SMU for many years and some of us left it out on th field when we were younger. Just have a little compassion.

[peruna11]

I have the same diagnosis as pro golver Phil Mickelson. Psoriatric Arthritis. Very difficult to stand up and very painful to stand for a prolonged time. Fortunately I sit in the club level where the crowd goes more for comfort than rowdiness. I was very rowdy when I was an undergrad, but many of us are either old or can't do the things we used to do. There is plenty of room in the student section for those who want that experience and I say good for you. But please don't criti cize those of us who just can't do it anymore. Many of us, and Im not a senior citizen yet, just feel like one, have given to SMU for many years and some of us left it out on th field when we were younger. Just have a little compassion.

I don't know if you were addressing a specific poster or the thread in general, but I completely understand and respect where you are coming from. Had he tapped us on the shoulder and asked us to sit, explaining what you just did, I assure you it would have been a much better game experience for everyone involved.

Instead, he tersely told us to sit and went straight up the stairs for security, leading to discussions with both security and the Sheriff's Dept.

That being said, I started the thread for advice. Considering PF posters are some of the most dedicated fans we have, I appreciate the responses. I gather if you want to stand most of the game and be rowdy, set up shop next to the students on the East side. If you want to mostly sit, but cheer however you please, you're welcome on the West.

I am hoping that some of the louder fans that want to be on their feet will join us over there. In the meantime, some of us are talking to the school about promoting a section just for this purpose.

As it stands, many of us are frustrated by indications from the school that they discourage a loud stadium and creating a home field advantage. Some of us are trying to do something about it, without the cost of losing a fan.