[1]Big crowds are a rarity at Lancers games, and the players find it hard to play to empty stands. Photo by Shelden Rogers
By Shelden Rogers
Loyalist College takes supporting their varsity athletic teams seriously, however their students do not.
When it comes to spirit from students at Loyalist, the numbers are disappointing. The Loyalist Lancers house a total of five men’s and women’s varsity sports.
They play sports both outside on the field, and inside a gymnasium. Regardless of where they are playing, the crowd seems to be the same size- small.
Jordan Marlowe plays for the Loyalist Lancers men’s basketball team. He says big crowds change the game completely.
“It makes all the difference. Especially if it’s your own fans and they’re rooting for you. It just gives you that extra edge. It’s usually five on five, but with the crowd, it’s six on five. You just get that extra push,” says Marlowe.
He says he rarely sees those crowds at Loyalist. He says the only time he sees big crowds is when the team is dong well. He wants something done to bring the crowd up for a general game.
“We definitely need to do something about it. I don’t know if we need to offer the fans more stuff, but we need to do something to get the crowd up,” he says.
Most of the support he sees in the stands is from his fellow varsity athletes. He says his team does the same.
“The girls had a tournament this past weekend. We made sure we went out to all their games. The soccer girls also had a game this past week and we made sure that we went out there. When we show them love, they show us love. So they’ll be at our games,” he says.
Carson Power is also a member of the men’s basketball team. He agrees there is an issue with school support and wants to see something done about it.
“I would like to see more scheduled events for school spirit. Like more signs and things around the school to let the average student know when the games are so that we can get bigger crowds,” says Power.
He wants the feeling of some other schools in the country, such as the schools that take supporting varsity sports very seriously.
“It’s like a religion out there to go to sporting events. It’s like a culture to the students. If we could get that same culture here, I think it would be really good,” he says.
Loyalist College’s athletic director, Jim Buck, agrees that school support is too low. He and his team are looking to do something about it.
“The last couple of years it hasn’t been great. We are looking at that and trying to rebuild it,” says Buck.
As an athlete himself, he knows the feeling of coming out to a packed house.
“Nothing is better than playing in front of a packed gym, especially in competitive games,” he says.
Buck says that school spirit used to be rock the gym at Loyalist, and the school has the potential to get back to that point.
“In the old days we used to pack the gym pretty good and other teams would support and we would get guys to dress up and make noise and that type of stuff.” He says.
Buck believes the lower numbers are due to a number of issues. He finds that students are busier with other things such as families, commuting, and jobs, and don’t have time to come out to games.
He also thinks that some students would rather hangout with friends and have a beer while watching TV or playing video games.
But Buck said that he and his team can take some of the blame.
“Part of the blame falls on us. We could do more. But I have a small staff and we have a lot on our plates and it’s hard to get out there and bang on doors and say come out to the game tonight,” he says.
Buck is hoping to work with some other programs in the school, and generate a team that is committed to drawing bigger crowds.