Dustin Swedelson

Sports Editor

dmswedelson@valdosta.edu

Sports Column: Swede’s Peeves

The Blazer football team finally suits up this weekend after an extended break. With parents weekend, and the team not having played in 21 days one would think Bazemore-Hyder will be packed. That however will not be the case, and it’s time for students at VSU to be called out.
I will admit I was impressed with the student turnout in the downpour for opening night against Fort Valley, but there was no other football Aug. 23. Now the tradition of skipping going to your own school’s home games to watch the school you couldn’t get into or got kicked out of (be it Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida, Florida State, etc.) on television will continue.
Give me a break people. You are not a Bulldog, Seminole, Gator, etc., you are a Blazer and you should support your fellow Blazers. At those big schools, players are a name without a face. Here at VSU, you see these guys on campus; they’re in your classes. When you realize all they have to do between practice, meetings and classes, you should respect what they are able to accomplish and support them.
It shouldn’t take a gimmick or giveaway to get you to the stadium; you should just be there. The Blazers are the No. 1 team in the nation, defending a National Title for the second time. David Dean is coming off a National Coach of the Year award, Sherard Reynolds is campaigning to be the first three-time All American Blazer since C.J. Lofton and Cedric Jones is a top 5 player in the nation.
You want big school guys? VSU has them. Florida transfer Markus Manson is averaging almost seven yards a carry. Ohio State transfer Albert Dukes is tied for the team lead in touchdowns. T.J. Williams makes his Blazer debut this week; he is only Antonio Cromartie’s brother and a Michigan State transfer.
The names are there from the big schools as well as homegrown guys. Watch Larry Dean pre-snap. He reads an offense as good as any linebacker at any level. Everett Kitchens puts on a weekly hitting clinic on game day. Roger King pound for pound may hit harder than anyone around for his size. Some of you have never heard of these names before; and that is a disgrace.
Give up watching UGA. You weren’t welcome there. But VSU opened the doors and rolled out the red carpet for you. This is not the drop off in football I hear ignoramuses spew out on campus; Division II football at the level VSU plays is legitimate football.
Come out to Bazemore-Hyder Stadium this weekend and watch your team do what it does. Don’t think fans impact a game? Ask any player, a hostile environment on the road is near impossible to play perfect football in. Why don’t you give your school an edge this weekend? For some of you it will be the first contribution you have given the school since arriving here so many years ago.
Last season the National Champs rarely played in front of a packed house. Some guys had decent crowds, but you would expect the best team in the country to draw a greater following. This is not their faults; they showed up every week and won, except for one week of course.
That one loss last season came at home on a Thursday night against Delta State. With a big lead heading into the second half, fans decided it was time to go out, rather than watch two national powers duke it out for just two more measly quarters.
The fans left. The edge was gone. The energy the players got from the fans was eliminated. Delta State was able to focus and execute their game plan without any noise distractions.
Is that an excuse for the loss? No, but when two teams are as evenly matched as DSU and VSU were, every edge matters.
I’d like to be optimistic and expect a crowd of 8,000 this weekend but I have been here too long to make that mistake. Whether it’s this week or later that some of you wise up, just remember; the team playing there will always be worth watching, and anyone who goes consistently will tell you that.