By Steph Holton
Did you get to see the amazing Vikings homecoming victory over the Grizzlies this year? No? Neither did I – not in person at least.
On the day of Homecoming, my friends and I were soaked from the downpour by the time we reached the stadium. But our school spirit endured. This is Portland after all; what’s a little rain going to hurt? The student section, we then discovered, is the only section in the entire stadium not protected from the rain. Most of the students there greeted this as a minor inconvenience in the beginning. However, the number of student fans dwindled with each timeout despite the fact that an entire section of the covered stadium was left empty. At about halftime, the wind came up and made persevering even more difficult. By the end of the game (which my friends and I saw only thanks to livestreaming) the student section was a sad shell of stadium seats, while the rest of the fans – perhaps a little chilly, but dry at any rate – sat and watched the Vikings rake in another great victory.
Now, I’m thrilled that we won – especially because it was homecoming, and especially because it was against the Montana Grizzlies. But my question is this: aren’t the students an invaluable part of the football team’s fan base? It’s been a fight to get students out to the games in recent years and now, when they’re finally excited to go, they’re allowed to be rained out. Could more effort be put in to better encourage a full student section at PSU sporting events?