Beaver fans suck. Again.
And I mean it. The fans suck more than a vacuum in a black hole. No one bothers to formulate their own opinions; instead, they just listen to everyone else’s. Students in particular are guilty of this. Look, if you plan on saying the football team sucks, for God’s sake come to a game, stay the whole time (regardless of score) and then decide. Don’t just sit at home playing beer pong during the games and listen to what other people say.
What’s worse than fans not attending games is the lackadaisical attitude they have after a Beaver loss. Yes, the Beavers were losers for more than 25 years, but guess what? Fans don’t have to travel down that road again.
Students, I understand if you don’t come to games and don’t care if the Beavers win or lose. That’s on you. But if you actually come to the games and still don’t care, then you need to give that ticket to someone who gives a damn. Almost every person I talked to after the football team’s loss at Boise State stated the common message of, “Wow, we really suck. Boo-hoo.” And then, after the game against Cal, fans had a halfhearted attitude about the loss and said, “Well, maybe next week.”
I know that every player and coach on the sidelines believes they have a shot at winning each game. And if after every loss fans come out with a “Let’s get ’em next time” attitude, our teams will never amount to anything, because no one holds them accountable. Besides, “Let’s get em next time” is what you tell a youth basketball team full of 10-year-olds, not a Pac-10 program. And if the coaches and players can’t stand the heat, then get out of the kitchen.
I know that craptacular attitude is present all over campus because I have talked to loads of people who have said the same thing. Students have told me that Matt Moore is the worst thing that has ever happened to Oregon State. It’s great you think that, but why? And what can ‘we’ do to fix it?
That’s when people are stumped. Because they don’t bother to take the time to gather information behind their opinion, they just listen to everyone else and repeat. You know what other types of people do that? Toddlers.
All real criticism, positive and negative, comes when someone cares enough about something to point out its flaws. The fans of Beaver Nation are merely a bunch of repeating zombies incapable of creating any type of original thought. No one has heart.
Beaver fans did have heart a few years ago. Remember the Alexis Serna saga? People hated him after the LSU game. People criticized, ridiculed and condemned him for his God-awful performance because we should have won that game. People cared.
And what happened when people cared? Serna cared. He stepped up his game and eventually became the best kicker in the nation.
Do I think that people’s verbal abuse of Serna is the only reason he got better? No. But it’s about accountability. He didn’t hold up his end of the bargain as the kicker, and it’s his job to make kicks. Like any athlete, Serna was concerned with what fans thought of him and his performance.
Shout-out to the people who read this and think I’m talking about them: I am. If you are upset at this, you are a bad fan, and you are one of the people who left at halftime. I’m talking to you.
Sack up, Beaver fans. This team might not be as good as you hoped, but that doesn’t mean you bail at halftime. Have some faith. And a quick note: 31-3 at the half is something that can be overcome if a coaching staff makes adjustments at halftime. Does anyone recall Fresno State in 1981, or Stanford in 2002?
Good fans remember and have no reason to disagree with me, because the good fans are the ones who read this and understand my frustration. Those same people were the people standing in Reser last Saturday looking around asking where the fans went after halftime, looking at the barren student section with amazement.
The good fans are the ones who formulate educated criticism of the coaching staff for wasting an attempt to beat a Top-25 team. They are upset that a head coach seemed virtually unfazed by a complete debacle of a defensive game. They are upset that the Beavers put the worst kick-returner ever in charge of setting up the offense with any kind of field position. And they are upset that they went to a game where all 11 players on each side of the ball didn’t seem to have a clue as to what they were facing. But the good fans also stayed until the end of the game.
So what are we left with? There are fans with no clue, no heart and no way to show their repugnance toward a team that is struggling. Now people look to me for a solution. And I have one.
Stay in your seats until the clock shows all zeros in the final quarter. Ever wonder why teams don’t mind playing here? Ever wonder why teams have no trouble calling audibles at the line? And ever wonder why we lost for more than 25 years?
It’s because Reser Stadium was not a place that opposing teams respect. So instead of leaving at halftime to prove you were disappointed in the team, how about you show your distaste for a struggling program on days that start in S but don’t end in -aturday. Show up. Boo at blown penalties. Cheer “Go for it” on fourth and short. Cheer when it’s a first down. Scream at the sound of the chainsaw. Heckle the other team. And stay in the stadium. Make Reser a place where opposing teams don’t want to play, hate to play and are disgusted to visit because the fans are so loud and rambunctious regardless of the score.
That is the key to more wins and a better program. Make the Beavers feel the heart of its fans and give them more of a reason to lay it out on the line. It’s just like Little League baseball – when your parents were watching, you were bound to try harder. So give your team that extra inspiration. And check yourself Beaver nation: Are you part of the problem, or part of the solution?
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