Be a true fan

Fans who root for “their” team only when they are good are not true fans

From week to week, there are always those fans who will attend a game only if the team is winning.

I was proud to see so many fans at the Bulldogs’ home-opener on Saturday, even amidst the team’s 11-game losing streak. Football games always have a better atmosphere when the stands are packed and I do believe a large crowd, in some cases, can give the home team a slight advantage. There were 3,407 people in attendance at the home-opener last season compared to 3,201 fans this season.

Every college or university has fair-weather fans and Ferris is no exception. Over the last few weeks and even during parts of the 2009 football season, I heard time and time again that Ferris has never had a good football team. People with this belief probably have not looked at the record books recently because the team had a winning record three consecutive seasons prior to last year.

There were 8,426 fans at the Bulldogs’ game against Grand Valley State in 2004. In four of the Bulldogs’ final five games last season there were only 9,135 total. With the attendance of games in constant flux, I have to wonder what type of fans Ferris State has. Every school has its diehard fans who attend every game no matter what. Those are not the fans I am concerned about.

People with this mindset are obviously true fans. A true fan doesn’t say “they probably won’t win today, so I’m not going to watch the game.” A true fan supports his or her team week in and week out no matter how the team plays. I can almost guarantee that there will be more fans at the Bulldogs’ next home game if they continue to win.

Last season, the total attendance for six home games totaled more than 15,000 people. In 1975, there were 12,545 people at the homecoming game against Saginaw Valley State in a season in which the team lost all 10 of its games. If that many people can attend one game to watch a bad team, then certainly more fans should support the current Bulldog team. It’s not about wins and losses, it’s about supporting your team no matter what. n