On Saturday, my friends and I made the wet voyage to McLane Stadium to watch our No. 2 ranked Baylor Bears take on the Iowa State Cyclones. The entire game, even the second half, was a blast back down memory lane. I kept having flashbacks from my freshman year, when I stood on the front row of Floyd Casey Stadium as Baylor overcame the Heisman Hangover by smashing No. 1 ranked KSU 52-24.
Then it hit me. Although this was an amazing homecoming game for a senior, the fact that I was even able to make my way down to the front row [of Baylor Line seats] is an insult to the Baylor football program.
As I looked around, I realized that my university [at halftime Saturday] was not there to be the life our Bears needed. While this is charged to the majority of Baylor Nation, the Line is the pivotal aspect of our student body and our home field advantage.
This great university allows you, freshmen, to cheer enthusiastically as Baylor takes down opponent after opponent, holding the longest home win streak in the nation. You have the privilege to lead our student body from the front row, and yet you can’t even make it to the stadium.
The Baylor class of 2020 is one of the largest freshman classes in school history, and yet the Baylor Line came nowhere close to filling their opportunity.
I spoke to an alumnus of ‘83 who was equally disappointed with the student body at large, especially the Baylor Line. She told me that if she, at 54, “could stand all day in the rain they certainly could.”
When the game was over, and I looked around, my claw raised in the air, my disappointment grew to frustration.
The Baylor Line, and all that it encompasses, is no longer the Baylor of old with half-filled homecoming stadiums, and fans known for leaving right before half.
It is up to the current students, led by Baylor freshmen and upperclassmen alike, to redefine what it means to be a Baylor fan, changing the connotation of the less than impressive Line. The ball is in your court, freshmen. You can either help to change the national perception of Baylor fans and football, creating a new legacy; or you can be absent as you continue the perception that already exists.
As for my friends and I, we hope to see you in masses at the Oklahoma Blackout Game.
Be Rowdy. Be Proud. Be Loud. Be There.
Zach Posey, Royse City senior, English major
