By: Madison Hayes, SOC/BA'16
To be honest, I was nervous going into Wednesday’s game. The men’s basketball team had a record season last year, but that didn’t necessarily mean that the school spirit and energy from the crowd would carry over. Now that everyone’s back on campus, this game was really going to show whether AU fans would come out to support the team no matter what. I was very happy to see that they did.
As someone that sits on the side of every single home game, I’ve seen this team play under a lot of different circumstances. Let me tell you a little secret, they really do play better when there are more people in the stands. They thrive under pressure, both from the other teams and from the fans. Need proof? Saturday’s intense double overtime. Jesse Reed’s outstanding statistics on Wednesday (seriously, WOW he was on fire). Pee Wee’s buzzer beating three-pointer. These guys turn it on when things start to go wrong, and they feed off your support.
So please, keep coming out to games. It’s a “the more the merrier” type thing. When the stands are full, students get more excited, the dance and cheer teams have more fun and the players feel the encouragement. Hopefully, with enough cheering and chanting, we can turn these close nail-biters into easy wins.
About the author: Madison Hayes is currently a junior at American University and a major contributor to school spirit on and around campus. Along with being a Sports Multimedia Journalist for AU Blue Crew Leadership Council, she is a captain on the AU Dance Team! Madison is also a Jumpstart tutor, Latino Student Fund tutor, and mentor in the honors program.