FILE PHOTO -- The Flat Hat James Schafer

From the Sidelines
Freshman 15 can be avoided

By James Schafer
Flat Hat Senior Staff Writer

Welcome back, all you Tribe fans, and a special hello to all three of my loyal readers.

Well, it is that time of year again, the sun is beating down, the humidity is way up and Tribe Pride is in the air. Whether you are in Zable Stadium, out on Barksdale or watching from the bleachers at Busch, there is cheering to be done.

The first and most important rule to being a great W&M fan is to actually get to the games and matches. It is really hard to cheer for a team when you aren't there to see them for yourself. And seriously folks, it doesn't cost anything to go, so there is really no excuse not to.

OK, so now let's pretend you have made it to a sporting venue. Many of you may be a little confused as to what is appropriate behavior. Please, allow me to impart the small amount of fanatic knowledge I possess.

You can never go wrong when you cheer for the home team as loudly as possible and boo for the opposition equally as loudly. If you know a team member, feel free to shout encouragement to them. If you don't know anyone, no problem: a "Let's go Tribe!" will suffice.

Now, there are many, many options where the opposing team is concerned. A simple booing is a nice warm up, but doesn't really carry a whole lot of substance. However, taking the school name or mascot name and following it up with "sucks" works really well for a nice crowd chant.

Of course, there is much more to being a fan than simple vocal support. Never underestimate the power of a sign. Sure, you might say that the players don't actually have time to look up and read signs, but don't tell that to the guy behind you who can't see around your beautiful piece of poster board.

Wearing clothes is a good idea. Especially if they are green, gold or mention the College in some way, shape or form. We may never be a Crimson Tide, but we could surely pull off a nice green meadow or something stupid like that.

Even better than wearing clothes though is not wearing clothes. The diehards may want to take up a little body art and experiment with chest painting. Nothing says "Go Tribe" like a row of painted chests that spell "Go Tribe".

Another really important thing to remember, when you are out taking in a game, is that officials are human too and, like all humans, they are prone to making mistakes. However, this does not give them the right to blow a call when it goes against the Tribe. Be sure to let them know about their flagrant error. Nothing says, "You blew it!" like a nice rendition of the always-popular "B-S" chant.

Now one of the biggest problems about attending any sporting event is that you can sometimes feel overwhelmed by the sea of humanity that is present and the prospect that you will know exactly zero of those included in the sea. To avoid this particular problem, I suggest you bring a friend. Actually, bring two or three or your entire hall -- really, the more the merrier.

Ideally, you and 10 of your closest friends will head off to a sporting event clad in Tribe paraphernalia and covered in green and gold paint. When you arrive, you break out your signs, start your chants and then security comes over and asks if you have been drinking. No, not really, but if you can get 10 people to go to a game with you that would be really cool.

So anyway, get loud, get rowdy and I will see you at the game. Remember: Tribe Pride. And go get it.

James Schafer is a Flat Hat Senior Staff Writer, who highly encourages acts of nudity during sports related endeavors.