Daric Clemens is a senior journalism news major and is a columnist for The Daily News. His views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Daric at diclemens@bsu.edu.
Ball State Football has been through the dark days over the past five seasons as it hasn’t completed a winning season since 2013, but conference play has brought light to the team as it sits atop the Mid-American Conference West Division with a 2-0 start.
The Cardinals have begun to find success on the football field, and now it’s time for the residents of Muncie to do their part and fill up Scheumann Stadium.
Throughout the 2013-17 seasons, the attendance at Ball State home football games was ranked last out of 130 Division I schools in average attendance with 10,036.4 in the five-year span, according to College Football News. In 2018, the Cardinals averaged an attendance of 10,287 in their six home games.
The numbers are based on tickets sold for each specific game and not the actual amount of people in the stadium, so it would be assumed a smaller number was in attendance at a given game.
It is understandable that the numbers are down because losing seasons aren’t appealing to fan bases. There needs to be excitement surrounding the team and a reason for fans to open their pockets to buy a ticket or Ball State students to leave their busy schedules for a few hours to watch a game.
Sophomore wideout, Yo'Heinz Tyler (85) completes a touchdown pass from Redshirt Junior Quarterback Drew Plitt (9) in the first half on Sept. 14, 2019, at Scheumann Stadium. The Cardinals fell short 31-41 to the FAU Owls. Paul Kihn, DN
However, there are no more excuses. The Cardinals have put together multiple weeks of thrilling football as junior running back Caleb Huntley has combined for 309 yards and two touchdowns in the last two games. The defense has been able to get much-needed stops in key moments, and the team’s energy just looks to be on another level overall.
The Cardinals have completed two come-from-behind victories in the second half of each of their last two contests. Ball State scored 24 unanswered points Oct. 5 against Northern Illinois, which led to them bringing the Bronze Stalk Trophy back to Muncie for the first time since 2008. The Cardinals prevailed with a victory Oct. 12 after stopping Eastern Michigan in the red zone in the final seconds.
Fan support is important for a team’s success. It might not be the ultimate deciding factor, but players will notice when the community is on their side and showing it in their home outings. Crowd noise can even cause for an advantage over the opposing teams, which has been seen around the college football world. Followers of the team can also give the players and coaches a boost of confidence making them feel good about themselves when they make a big play.
From personal experience, larger crowds make games more enjoyable to watch because of the type of environment that comes with the excitement of the fans around.
The Cardinals will host their first home conference game of the season for their Homecoming Saturday as they look to extend their win streak to three games against Toledo.
Fans, you have one job: Show up, and support your home team.
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