By Savannah Pullin
Reporter
I have been patient long enough with Baylor fans. I have even gone so far as to defend them.
I have made excuses for them such as, “Well, they’re college students, so they have homework,” and “Getting in and out of the parking lot is difficult sometimes.” But sometimes there are just no excuses.
Why is it so difficult to sit through an entire Baylor sporting event? Many fans don’t even stand.
At the men’s basketball game last week, I sat in the Bear Pit, filled with despair as Kansas dominated our Bears for the second time this season.
With about 10 minutes left in the second half, I looked up to see half the crowd gone. The night did not start out like this. The Ferrell Center was packed and full of life during tip-off.
Baylor fans have gotten so much ridicule since I have been a student here.
People complain that we never support our teams, that we never stand during games and when we do drag our uninterested butts out to Floyd Casey Stadium or the Ferrell Center, we never stay to cheer our team through to the end.
Perhaps it was more understandable when our teams were not performing up to our expectations. But come on, people. The Bears were ranked No. 6 playing the No. 7 ranked Kansas. The game was even covered by ESPN.
The Bears are performing. They are giving it their all. They are bringing home wins and making us proud. And it is still difficult for people to sit through a two-hour game.
When your team is down on that floor, getting destroyed by Kansas, the least you could do is stay and support them. After all, it’s not like the fans are the ones who have to endure the ridicule of the loss.
Our players are not dumb. I’d like to believe they know they let us down, because I’m pretty sure they let themselves down that day. But when you walk out of those stands, you are literally turning your back on your team as you hustle to your car.
The influence of a crowd on a team’s ability has been debated at length for quite for some time. Some say players should not let the crowd affect them; they should be focused on the game and nothing else.
I disagree. Why else would the MLB play the All-Star game for home-field advantage in the World Series? Why else have the Jayhawks only lost 13 regular season games at home since 1994? Because the crowd matters.
I’m not saying every Baylor student should go to every Baylor sporting event all the time. But if you are going to a game, at least have the decency to stay and support your team even when they are down.
No one likes being kicked when they are down. And when you walk out on a losing team, that’s exactly what you are doing.
Savannah Pullin is a senior business journalism major from The Woodlands and is a reporter for the Lariat.
