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October 21, 2005 > Sports > Rice-UH soccer fans show levels of passion

Rice-UH soccer fans show levels of passion

By Stephen Whitfield | Thresher Editorial Staff

There are four levels of fandom at any sporting event. The first level consists of people who really don’t care a whole lot about the sport they’re watching, or about sports in general. These “fans” come to a game because everyone else is doing so. You’ll usually find these people only at a season-opener or a playoff game. You may see a lot of them rooting for the Houston Astros in October.

Level two of fans is no different from level one, except they have a vested personal interest in the game. By that, I mean level two fans have a friend or significant other playing in the contest who they want to cheer on; otherwise they would have no reason to attend.

The fans who make up level three follow the action very intently — almost too intently. They do not talk much during the game because they’re so focused, and when they do say something, it is usually a comment about strategy or formations.

Finally, someone on level four epitomizes the word “fanatic.” He stands up for the entire game, screaming out his support and constantly thinking of catchy, cruel things to say in front of the opposing bench. This person may be inebriated or shirtless. You know these fans. I know these fans. They make the game more enjoyable for everybody.

Friday’s Rice-Houston soccer game gave a perfect example of all four levels of fandom and of how a dedicated level four fan can inspire each of them.

For the first eight or nine minutes of the game, the crowd had about as much energy as a boring lecturer. Of the 1,087 people in attendance, only about 20 or 30 seemed to be paying attention to the proceedings on the field, and half of them were Cougar fans. I surmised the stadium was full of level one fans. It would make sense for these fans to attend a game against UH, since the Cougars are our cross-town rivals. About seven people, who looked like level two or three fans, stood on the front row behind the Owl bench.

Early on, the real action took place at the other end of the stands, behind UH’s bench. I saw about 10 rowdy fans dressed in red, cheering loudly, and assumed they were Cougar supporters. Behind them was an equal number of Rice fans trying to drown out the UH fans with their own cheers. They were all definitely level four fans. One of them may have already been drunk by the start of the game; it was difficult to tell. However, after a fourth-minute goal put the Cougars up 1-0 there wasn’t much cheering to be done, since each Rice statement was met by a retort of “look at the score” or something of that nature.

One person in that group of Rice fans, whom I’ll call “Superfan,” walked over to the seats behind the Rice bench and implored us all to get on our feet and cheer, screaming, “If you still have a voice by the end of this half, then you’re not cheering loud enough!” The overall mood of the crowd changed at that moment. Some fans sitting a few rows behind me stood up, moved to the front row and started cheering to their hearts’ content — maybe not as full-on level fours, but certainly as twos or threes.

Everyone was into the game the rest of the way, and Superfan was leading the charge. He made sure the crowd didn’t get too passive and always came up with something catchy to say at the appropriate moments, like saying “Houston cheats” after every Cougar foul. Superfan was a true level four fan. I couldn’t quite comprehend the hold he possessed over some of the crowd. Late in the second half, I noticed a group of young girls sitting under Superfan, devising some very catchy cheers of their own. They looked like level four fans in the making.

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