I’ve had better
Things would have been better with more cowbell
Paige Kreutzwieser
My first time
When I watch American college sports I think, “Why can’t that frenzied environment happen in Regina?”
Well, if anyone was fortunate enough to go to the University of Regina Rams game against the visiting Manitoba Bisons on Sept. 28, then you probably experienced the closest thing you will get to that kind of atmosphere.
It’s not that the crowd wasn’t entertained or captivated by the game, it was more that they weren’t fired up or propelled to the height of enthusiasm I expected.
The fans were very, very subdued. Which is a shame, because a huge part of success in sports is when your fans are behind you, cheering you on.
Indeed, the fans would cheer at the appropriate times, with the odd whistle or hoots and hollers if it was an above average play. However, I was let down by the passion of the Rams fans in the stands that night — until the second half.
I was sitting on the side where alcohol is allowed. I thought this would be great, a bunch of rowdy U of R students who want to party and cheer on their boys. However, the mood was fairly passive before half time, with not much excitement taking place.
But the second half was a whole other story. It was like the alcohol had finally set in for the majority of the crowd around me. I could barely hear what my friend beside me was saying, all because of the horrid cowbell.
This cowbell made what I anticipated to be a mellow football game, into the closest time I think I will ever come to an American college game at Mosaic Stadium –outside of Rider games.
One Manitoba fan brought out some of the most interesting things I think I’ll ever see at a Rams game. She rang this cowbell for the entire 3rd and 4th quarters, literally.
This got some of the Rams fans a little hostile, saying some things that were absolutely hilarious but should not be repeated in this article. And this girl took it all, while ringing her cowbell and yelling at her team to “stay hungry!”
During the 4th quarter things got heated. This poor security guard, who wanted nothing to do with the situation, got hassled by the U of R fans to take her cowbell away. Finally, there was some energy from the crowd. This made for some humorous entertainment, watching an innocent security guard try and contain an extremely intoxicated crowd.
What else made the second half so amusing were the parents. Sitting in the alcohol section, I assumed it would be filled with young students pre-drinking for their Friday night shenanigans.
But no, there was a large amount of older adults getting their drink on. And when the crowd started chanting “cowbell, cowbell!” to irritate and embarrass these five Manitoba fans, I was flabbergasted to see these adults harassing and persecuting alongside the inebriated U or R students.
From the vibe of the first 30 minutes of that game, I get the impression that the next Rams game I attend will not hit the entertainment value it did in the last 30 minutes of play.
Every Rams fan there supported the team, but the enthusiasm just wasn’t what I expected. Where is the passion like at a Rider game? Also, students get in for free! How could that not pump you up?
Furthermore, the Rams are a solid team this year. They played amazing on Friday, and with a 4 -1 record, maybe we should rally up together as a school, put on some green and gold; get out there with some cowbells and fire up our team.
