As Said by Scottie; Four Factors in Being A Better Fan

In Louisiana, basketball has always been the 2nd option for fans behind football, and on Southern University’s campus, this trend is no different.
As far as basketball is concerned however, Southern University’s Geaux Team, among many others, have been on a mission to raise fan attendance and participation during home basketball games.
One member of the Jaguar Nation who has become a fan favorite during his tenure at Southern, Scott Hendon, was able to give insight into the possible reasons behind a lack of fan attendance, as well as possible ways to improve it moving forward.
Some of the biggest factors that Hendon says he sees in a lack of fan participation at basketball games are a mixture of promotion and a lack transportation.
“Basketball in the SWAC isn’t really promoted or invested into the way that football has been. [For the most part] it’s left up to the students to promote the games campus wide, and that’s hard to do,” admitted said Hendon, a sophomore political science and education major from Tallulah, Louisiana.
With a handful of the student body being the the primary promotion team for an entire sports team, frustration on the hand of the Hendon and student organizations such as the Geaux Team is understandable.
As far as transportation goes, the strenuous weather conditions experienced in Baton Rouge may play a bigger role than many may think, according to Hendon.
“We’ve had some freezing games, hot games, rainy games, and [it gets to the point] where students who have to walk all the way from the back of campus are saying, ‘I’m not doing that’….I feel that in the future, SGA has to work to somehow make some sort of transportation, whether that be trying to get two or three shuttles [or something] to make transportation easier,” said Hendon.
As far as what the student body itself can do to make game days better however, Scott gave his own list of ways to give the Jaguars a real home court advantage when they step on the court.
The first two features on his list were straight out of football’s Coach Odum’s book of fandom, which encouraged a real Southern experience for visiting teams and fans.
“[First] you’ve got to be willing to talk s**t. [And secondly], you’ve got to be rude to the enemy,” said Hendon. Hendon also credits Coach Odums for putting emphasis on the aggression factor on part of Southern fans.
“[Most importantly], we have to be supportive and show support win or lose,” said Hendon.
On the part of the university and the student body, there are a multitude of ways to improve fan attendance as well as increase the notoriety of our home court advantage in the SWAC.
Going into the final stretch of this season, Scott emphasized just how much the basketball teams need student support going into March, especially with tournament play likely being a huge factor in the conclusion of our highly-seeded women’s basketball team season.
“Never give up on your team, because when times get tough, that’s when they need you the most,” said Hendon in a final message to the Jaguar Nation who may need the extra push to come out and show support.
The final home game of the 2018-19 regular season is on March 2 vs Alcorn on Senior Night, so come out and support the Jags as they look close the season out to a full house at the F.G. Clark Activity Center.