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