Over The Pylon

So much for my hopes and dreams of Ball State fans finally having their act together. We were clearly going to win the Army game and they still left early. I don’t get it. If we’re losing at halftime, they leave. If we’ve got a big lead and it doesn’t look like there’s a chance of us losing, they leave. What is the problem Ball State? Do we really have to have nail-biting games every single week for you all to stay for the entire game?

At the end of the Army game, there were probably just a few hundred, if that, students left in the student section. This is really frustrating to me, Athletics, and other student organizations trying to make a difference in attendance. Charlie’s Crew, the club of which I am president, piloted the Student Rewards program last year and it helped a little bit with attendance. Whenever a student swipes their student ID at a football, women’s volleyball, or men’s and women’s basketball game, they will earn reward points. The points then translate into prizes such as free pizza, t-shirts, sunglasses, and lunch with Pete Lembo. Pete’s a pretty good incentive if you ask me. This year’s football games come with an added bonus: if you swipe your ID during the fourth quarter, you can earn bonus points! Great idea, right? In theory, it’s awesome. In actuality, students are swiping their ID at the beginning of the fourth quarter on their way out of the Scheu.

I’m not sure what options we have left. We have a very talented football team that our students are not appreciating. Heaven forbid we lose this upcoming Toledo game. Our student section is done for then.

Speaking of the Toledo game, that weekend should be a very exciting one for Ball State. Obviously, Toledo is our biggest rival at the Scheu this year. If we can beat them, our momentum can hopefully carry us pretty far in the season. That weekend is also Family Weekend on campus. This is a great chance for parents to come to Muncie for the weekend and supply their kids with beer at the tailgate (one can dream, right?). Hopefully the stands will look a little fuller that weekend.

Also that weekend, the MAC Social Media Tour is making its stop at Funcie, Indiana. Approximately 4 Ball State fans will have to opportunity to cover the ultimate game day experience. From my understanding, the MAC Social Media Tour is stopping at each MAC school at some point during the season. Fans will use social media to report their game day experience all the way starting at tailgate and ending with post-game festivities. I would assume there would be some all-access passes handed out and potentially a trip to the press box. For a die-hard Ball State fan, this is a great opportunity that should not be missed! If you want a chance to be chosen for this social experience, follow @MACSports and @JGuyMAC on Twitter.

While I’m talking about social media, let’s just take a second to discuss the former student body president, Malachi Randolph. He has recently stepped down as president due to his social media scandal. On the night of September 4, he had a series of derogatory tweets about Chinese people. To further the embarrassment of this situation, he is an international business major. Last I checked, China makes up a large portion of the world’s population and I would assume at some point he will be doing business internationally with China. What would possess someone in such a high student leadership position to publicly tweet such racially insensitive tweets? If you want to see his tweets and learn more about the situation, the Ball State Daily News has a great series of stories covering the incident.

Ball State, we have to get our act together. We are losing the beginning of the year magic and school spirit that floats in the air. The Toledo game and the Homecoming game is right around the corner, and if either of these events are any less than magical I will probably have to punch somebody. Please, if you have any suggestions on how we can make students invested in our teams, let me know. We’re riding the struggle bus way more than we should be. Sigh. CHIRP CHIRP.

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