The 12th Ram
The 12th man.
It is inscribed under the student section at Kyle Field, home of
the Texas Aggies. It renders opponents deaf deep in “The Swamp” of
Gainesville, Fla. It overwhelms with its masses in places like
Knoxville and Ann Arbor, and down in the Bayou it garnered the
stadium the nickname Death Valley when it created a small earth
tremor that registered on a seismograph meter across the LSU
campus.
The fans are a factor in a game and teams look to eliminate them
as a threat early. They can pump a team up and get them in a game,
and also take an opponent out of its game making it hard to hear
calls.
“I think our stadium is pretty loud this year since they closed
the end. There’s a lot more concrete in there and it echoes more,”
said CSU safety Adam Lancisero. “I know last game it got pretty
loud in there and I couldn’t hear a couple calls we made.”
Conversely, if the fans are not in the game it can deflate the
home team. It can hurt them if fans turn on them, and desert them.
As the 12th man, the fans take the good and bad times with the
team, and if fans see a team give up it can hurt them and diminish
their involvement within the game.
“Honestly I think our fans need to take some notes. They want us
to compete with those national teams, not only does it take the
football program, but it takes the people in the stands,” said
senior halfback Joel Dreessen. “When there are empty seats in the
stands, when they’re not yelling on a third down, even if we’re
down by two touchdowns and a field goal, that’s not good
enough.”
Rams fans got a boost this season as they saw the open grass
above the north end zone become permanent seats at the newly named
Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium. This will get fans closer to
the action, and closing in the end zone just gives Rams’ opponents
more headaches from the noise.
“I think it’s a great stadium, not as many seats as a couple of
the big stadiums, but its got a great atmosphere,” said sophomore
corner Brandon Cathy. “A few expansions, a couple more seats, and a
big screen, its just a good atmosphere to play in.”
Not only do the players feed off the fans, but also the fans in
turn feed off the plays that players make on the field. An 80-yard
touchdown pass will get a crowd into a frenzy in no time.
“It’s exciting, we always like to have them cheering for us and
yelling for us,” said Lancisero. “Obviously we got to make some
plays for them to cheer about, but its nice to have your family and
your fans there.”
If a team is down and looking for a boost, the fans can bring it
back into a game. In big situations, on third downs, around the
goal line and when the game is on the line, the fans can become
that extra factor that gets their team over the top.
“It’s just exciting, they are always in the games at the right
times,” said junior quarterback Justin Holland. “The crucial
moments when we need them, when the defense is out there and we
need a stop, or our offense needs to get pumped up, they are always
right behind us. We love our fans.”
Top-10 Stadium Rankings
Division I-A Football
1. Neyland Stadium – Knoxville,
Tennessee – Tennessee
est.1921 cap.104,079
2. Notre Dame Stadium – South Bend,
Indiana – Notre Dame
est. 1930 cap. 80,232
3 “The 3. “The Swamp” Florida Field
@ Ben Hill Griffin Stadium – Gainesville, Florida – Florida
est. 1929 cap. 83,000
4 Kyle 4. Kyle Field – Bryan, Texas
– Texas A&M
est. 1927 cap. 80,650
5 Husky Stadium – Seattle,
Washington – Washington
est. 1920 cap. 75,500
6 Tiger Stadium “Death Valley” –
Baton Rouge, Louisiana – Louisiana State
est. 1924 cap. 91,600
7 Michigan Stadium “The Big House” –
Ann Arbor, Michigan – Michigan
est. 1927 cap. 107, 501
8 Camp Randall Stadium – Madison,
Wisconsin – Wisconsin
est. 1917 cap. 76,129
9 Memorial Stadium – Lincoln,
Nebraska – Nebraska
est. 1923 cap. 74,031
10 Ohio Stadium “The Horseshoe –
Columbus, Ohio – Ohio State
est. 1922 cap. 101, 568
MWC Football Stadium Rankings
1. LaVell Edwards Stadium – Provo,
Utah – Brigham Young
est. 1964 cap. 65,524
2. Falcon Stadium – Colorado
Springs, Colorado – Air Force Academy
est. 1962 cap. 52,123
3. Rice-Eccles Stadium – Salt Lake
City, Utah – Utah
est. 1927 cap. 46, 500
4. War Memorial Stadium – Laramie,
Wyoming – Wyoming
est. 1950 cap. 33,500
5. Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes
Stadium – Fort Collins, Colorado – Colorado State
est. 1968 cap. 30,000
6. Qualcomm Stadium – San Diego,
California – San Diego State
est. 1968 cap. 71,294
7. Sam Boyd Stadium – Las Vegas,
Nevada – Nevada, Las Vegas
est. 1971 cap. 40,000
8. University Stadium – Albuquerque,
New Mexico – New Mexico
est. 1960 cap. 31,218
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