Having been here a short time, it is already clear to me that Macalester sports maintains a very unique atmosphere. This is especially true during Homecoming. While I could go on for pages about the inner workings of Macalester athletics, two aspects deserve special attention in this week of festivities and pomp: flag girls and overly-talkative fans.
 

The Players Tried to Take the Field But the Marching Band Refused to Yield

Beginning in August, before the semester started, they went to work, training in the cruelest of conditions. Attired in uniforms susceptible to the sweltering late-summer heat, these athletes know no limits of physical demand. Perhaps it is out of admiration for such finely tuned machines that hundreds of fans pack stadiums throughout autumn to catch a glimpse. Still, the Cretin-Durham Hall flag girls, the envy of all Minnesota high school marching bands, have proven to be unfazed by even the largest and most prestigious crowds that gather before them. Following their recent appearance at Macalester a majority of their crazed fans even stayed for the remainder of the football game.

Because the game proved only mildly exciting, it was the flag girls who truly thrilled the crowd with their funky renditions of “West Side Story” hits. Later, as the players jostled towards the locker room and fans pushed for the exits, someone could be heard whistling a tune from the halftime revue of the romantic musical. However, it seemed evident that at 0-3, and with fiercer competition ahead, the Mac football team was not feeling pretty, oh so pretty.

Conversations With Officials

When a Macalester team struggles during the course of a game, the Mac fans are always quick to do their part to help out. This most notably includes finding ways to blame different aspects of the game, lessening the shame the team may be feeling for simply not playing well. Most popular among these techniques is abuse of the game’s officials. Fortunately, the attacks usually remain at a verbal level.

Homecoming is especially filled with such outbursts, due to the return of alumni who have accumulated booklets full of witty and hurtful remarks to holler. When a slight delay in play brought the refs together for discussion during Saturday’s football game, one overzealous fan suggested that the refs were meeting in order to discuss “…the fact that they suck.” Similarly, some Mac supporters inquired, whether the officials were viewing the same game as the rest of us. Those who were more daring went on to add that, rather than being atop their necks, the officials kept their heads stored in other body parts. A disturbing image, to say the least.

Nevertheless, as an athlete I do not condemn such negative forms of support. From my own experience in competition I am well aware that there is nothing quite as soothing for a frustrated player as the booming voice that advises the referee what he should do with himself after the game.