Traditionally at football games allover the nation a scene would consist of: of course the fans, teamparaphernalia all around the field, referees dressed in their uniformed blackand white stripes, reporters scavenging around the field for a story, a banddancing with crowds like it’s a huge party, big shot officials in suits(owners, presidents of schools), families with a face full of pride, bleachers,trainers, a team mascot and last but not least the cheerleaders and thefootball team.
In saving what may be the mostimportant two reasons people attend the games for last, attendees would usuallywatch the football team run out to the field as the slender flexible girls inskirts are the closest to the team in distance and association besides thecoach cheering them on as they run by. All of which is considered standard in the American way.
But at Southern University the sceneset above doesn’t actually go that way. The cheerleaders are a big cheer squad for the football team but theirbiggest supporters on the sideline comes from the Lady Jaguars volleyball team.
In the most uncanny way it is thevolleyball team and football team at Southern that support each other in acheerleader-football player type traditional way.
Lady Jags’ junior outside hitterKrystal Young said that the teams’ relationship formed during preseason, whichis held three weeks before classes begin andnon-athletic students move on campus.
So before school starts the onlypeople on campus around are coaches and instructors attending meetings all day,janitorial services putting the finishing touches on dorms and in classes thenthere are the football players and the volleyball team.
“We were both up at the crack of dawnrunning, practicing, and weightlifting,” Young said. “It’s like if their going to the weight room or practicingwe were constantly running into each other.”
The usual hangout spot for somemembers of both teams is on the left end back corner of Seymour Gym or in thelunchroom for dinner after late practices for the squads.
At home volleyball games in Seymour,approximately 20 to 30 football players can be found throughout the gymsupporting the Lady Jags. Somegames the football team would hype the crowd up by starting a human wave in thestands and making the small gym so loud at times that the Lady Jags would findmomentum to try and make a comeback if they are once losing confidence in amatch.
“We support thembecause they show us support at our games,” said Jag’s junior running backSteel Adams. “They came withT-shirts on to the last game to show support. They would come up to us after the game and tell us that wedid a good job and if we lost they would tell us to keep our heads up. It’s up to us to say keep your head upif they lose.”
Thus far theLady Jaguars have won only one game this season (1-12) but some footballplayers still manage to be faces in the crowd.
The footballteam record is 4-2 overall and 3-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference.
According toYoung, students that notice the groups’ friendship wouldn’t know what’s behindthe scenes at all and like human nature, they would start to form their ownideas.
“Regularstudents that don’t know us think we’re ‘groupies’. It’s not a ‘groupie’ thing, they support us and we supportthem.” Teammate and sophomoreoutside hitter Shemetia Walker nodded her head in agreement with Young.
Players fromboth teams said that it was a fifty-fifty friendship thing and it was good thattheir support is noticed and not going in vain.
