30 Reasons for 30 Days - Day 6: Because of the Fans Themselves

From now through September 3rd, I am posting a daily reason why it is great to be a fan of Rutgers football. There are a lot more than thirty, but I picked my thirty reasons, and hope you like them. If not, be sure to let me know.

I know, I know it seems contradictory. After all, how can a reason that you are a fan of Rutgers football be because of other fans? Actually, the interaction among fans of any team and any sport is part of why it is great to be one of the supporters. It’s like a club, and seeing someone else who is part of that club makes you feel like you belong, that you’re part of something big, and important.

And fans come in all shapes, sizes, and yes ages. It also doesn’t matter whether you actually attended the school or not. A fan is one who supports the program, and wants to see it succeed. Whether you became a fan because you attended school there, or grew up around other fans, or live nearby and just became one “just because” or you support it because Rutgers is the state university does not even matter. The fact is, you’re a fan, and it is fun to support your team, win or lose.

You can find fans all over, particularly on social media. Some of the names are giveaways about their affiliation. Twitter has tons of them, and I’m only going to focus on Rutgers football fans. Heck, my own twitter handle @RURahFan should give you some kind of idea about how I feel about it. Here are some others to whom I am giving free publicity: Rutgers Fan, Scarlet Knights, Scarlet Chop, Mike_RU Fan, Rutgers Al, and more whose names do not necessarily denote their affiliation, but have pictures on their pages that have the stadium, the Knight, a helmet, or more.

Photo by Scott Bourne

There are several fan pages on Facebook devoted to Rutgers football, including pages entitled Rutgers Football, #10 Strong, Rutgers Athletics Tailgating Club, even a Rutgers/Maryland Rivalry Page. These pages are very well followed, and each has a committed following. Just keeping up with the comments on these pages requires a concerted effort. These are committed fans, and pretty well schooled on Rutgers football, too!

The fans in the stadium make it happen, too. Of course, you can’t go to a Rutgers game without seeing the fans in and out of the stadium. Prior to our first Big Ten conference game in September 2014 against Penn State, this was released by Nj.com:

This isn’t something that began when Rutgers joined the Big Ten in 2014. Here is a vintage video back before the last stadium expansion in 2009, back when there were “temporary” bleachers in the open end of the then U-shaped stadium. The fact that fans were doing “the wave” shows its vintage!

But it doesn’t have to be just adults in on the action. Even little guys start early preparing for the chants in the stadium:

And I guess it pays off, too. By the time this little guy gets to go to school there, he can join in the fun in the stadium. However, it doesn’t just have to be home games. Here is one from the old Big East days in Philly, and the Rutgers fans sound like they may be more numerous than the Temple fans.

No matter where you go, you will always find fans of Rutgers football. It isn’t something that you outgrow. No matter how old you get, you’ll still be a fan:

Today’s reason why it is great to be a fan of Rutgers football is that you’re never alone, and the fans, either at a game, or anywhere you travel, the fans are always there. It IS great to be a fan of Rutgers football!

Photo courtesy of Talin Hovsepian