By Jeff Caves
Let the debate end now on how big of an impact fans IN THE STANDS can have on the outcome of a game. THANK GOD enough people are left willing to pay money to sit outside til midnight on steel benches in 35 degree weather with 33,118 others.
And like it.
The 24-17 win over Fresno State presented as many challenges for Bronco fans as the players. I get it. Using your Friday night to go home right after work, change, gather your stuff, herd your family together, park, walk to the stadium, find food, wait in long lines to get in, go to the bathroom, walk up stairs, sit next to idiots, etc can be a pain in the ass. It is so much easier to take the stress off and just let everybody else do the work and stay home. What would Boise State football be like without fans yelling, clapping, pounding, screaming, whistling and stomping in unison?
San Jose State football that’s what.
Bronco fans are willing to show up as extras on a movie lot and provide tv viewers with entertainment. All of us at that stadium are presenting an entertainment product. We all have roles. Coaches and players act. Media people critique. Behind the scenes folks direct and support the entire production. But the bands, music, cheerleaders, hype man (I like David Mckinzie), and FANS IN THE STANDS are what make it special. Different. The color and spectacle of college football live IN PERSON.
Face it. Without people who go to games to work, play and watch, there would not be as many watching screens for yet another 3 and half hours of their life. The evidence of the impact fans in the stands can have was on display again in the first quarter. Fresno State had 2 false starts all because of fan noise.
Noisy Boise strikes again.
The Fresno Bee pointed out how impactful fans in the stands at Albertsons Stadium have been by causing false start penalties on opposing team’s offense.
2018 Boise State home games:
Connecticut: 6 false starts
San Diego State: 6 false starts
Colorado State: 1 false start (but 2 delay of game penalties)
BYU: 2 false starts
The tally last night? Fresno St: 3 false starts.
Fresno St. head coach Jeff Tedford and a Fresno St player had this to say after the game:
:32 “Give them some credit , they did a good job. This is a tough place to play. There fans did an awesome job, it’s very loud here.”
2:02 Answering a question about whether the first half penalties were due to too much excitement by Fresno players or…? ”You were there, you see how loud it is right? It’s hard to replicate that.”
Linebacker George Helmuth:
:27 Answering a question about what it will take to win in Boise. “ Definitely, the fan base, they are loud, and they provide a lot of adversity for us. We have to be mentally tough, we gotta be tougher all across the board.. if wanna come here and win , that’s what it’s gonna take.” Who knows how much chaos the fans in the stands caused their offensive system. Andy Avalos has his defensive front jumping in and out of gaps before the snap of the ball to force Fresno St. to communicate even more in the deafening noise.
So, here’s to the fans in the stands. Without you, it just wouldn’t be the same.
