FOOTBALL: Fans stay faithful despite rain

Disappointing play, weather did not stop crowd's spirit

It wasn't a pretty evening, but that didn't quiet the Ball State University football fans. Even with the Cardinals on the wrong side of the scoreboard and the crummy weather, Ball State fans cheered to the end Saturday night at Scheumann Stadium.

"I come to every game that I can," senior Tom Pillote said. "I kind of had a revelation that this year might be my final year to see a college football game in the student section. All the enthusiasm and all the craziness that can happen in the student section is super exciting. I'm just taking advantage of all the time I have left."

Though the fans were happy to support their Cardinals, it didn't keep them from the frustration of the loss. The prime object most fans seemed to disagree with was Ball State's quarterback situation.

"I don't disagree with either quarterback," recently graduated Chas Kelley said. "Both quarterbacks are really good. Playing both of them is good if the game's over, but you can't alternate two of them because they get in a rhythm and then you ditch them. You're only hurting yourself when you do that."

With a little more than three minutes left in the first quarter, a major thunderstorm cell passed over Scheumann Stadium. As the bad weather rolled in, hundreds of fans rolled out of the student section. However, there was still a good portion of loyal fans that braved the harsh elements.

After the weather calmed and the football game resumed, the fans returned. Pilotte said he never entertained a thought of leaving the game early.

"It was never a question of whether we were going to go home," Pilotte said. "I told all of my friends that we were staying, and they all agreed with me. We stayed for no other reason than because we might be the only fans left in the student section. I think we just lost all the people who would've left at halftime anyway."

One of the major attractions Saturday evening was Northern Illinois's Garrett Wolfe. The junior running back didn't disappoint, as he tallied 353 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

Though the athletic display was impressive, it was still upsetting for Cardinal fans. Kelley said it was just a by-product of what has been plaguing the team all season-poor defense.

"Our tackling has been a problem since week one," Kelley said. "Eastern Michigan is one of the weaker teams in the [Mid-American Conference], and their quarterback ran for how many yards. That's pretty disappointing. We need to work on tackling and being in the right place defensively."

Even though Ball State lost, fans insisted they focus on the positives. Most fans pointed out the team's improved play this year on the offensive side of the ball.

"It's really disappointing, but this year you can see an improvement," Kelley said. "There are a lot of sparks on offense. They've been throwing the ball downfield a lot more, and that's encouraging. You can tell that we're getting better. I just wish it could happen a little bit faster."


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