Why not us! Why aren’t we able to fill Blackshear Stadium for a football game other than homecoming? Why aren’t there rowdy fans yelling behind the opposing team’s bench in a packed house at the William “Billy” J. Nicks Building? Do we have to be playing Texas Southern to make signs and come up with chants?
I’m a strong believer in comparing yourself to the best in order to better your situation. The William “Billy” J. Nicks Building can hold up to 6,500 people compared to Texas A&M University’s 12,500, but that’s not the problem. Our university doesn’t give us any incentive to come to the games and a majority of the time you hear about the games by word of mouth or by what looks to be a power point slide show on the television screens in the Memorial Student Center.
Did you know that students at University of Kentucky wait in the freezing cold for up to 12 hours before game-time, and in honor of former coach Tubby Smith being from Scotland, Md., students dress in blue plaid, kilts, and face paint down in the “eRUPPtion Zone,” the standing room only section behind one of the baskets.
Why can’t we have a student section at Prairie View? Is it that our fans don’t get live enough or is it because no one has ever tried? I’m sure there are 500-plus students who would want to start a fan section on Prairie View’s campus. What we are doing now is OK but it’s just not good enough. Why do we always settle for mediocrity when we are extraordinary people at a great university?
A good athletics program can bring so much to Prairie View A&M. Now that the product on the field and on the court has improved over the years, it’s time for everyone else to do their part. Every game should look like PV vs. TSU. From the words of photographer and friend Ronald Smith, ” We’ve got to do better!”