The attendance for the App State vs Gardner Webb game was much better than anticipated. This was a great showing for a first home game against an inferior opponent. However, this game unveiled some game day problems we should address. I don’t want to sound old but there are issues with some things that took place on Saturday. Hopefully, with the cooperation of the fans in the athletic department these can be easily addressed. Here are two simple game day changes App State can instantly make instantly.
1) Play Bugler’s Dream on every kickoff
What else do you need to know? Bugler’s Dream is an App State tradition and needs to be played at every kick off. I’ve been coming to App State games since childhood. Bugler’s Dream has been a staple at every kick off from the very beginning of the game, until the end. I realize that some of the scoring takes place so quickly that the band does not have a chance to return to their seats. In cases such as this, we just need to bite the bullet and pipe in the music. Many traditions come and go, but this is one that needs to stay. Why? It unifies the entire stadium and is instantly recognizable. A freshman attending his or her first game can easily see what they need to do when they hear Bugler’s Dream and see the fans pointing to the opponents end zone. It’s a beautiful sight and effective as well. We’re in an era where schools and programs are trying to copy one another to find something that sticks. Bugler’s Dream is a great way to continue to bridge the newest generation of Appalachian fans with the oldest.
2) Stop cheerleaders from prompting chants while App State is on offense
Cheerleaders have a bit of a thankless job. They work long hours that we never see and have to keep up team spirit during the most lopsided games. But football is football. You don’t cheer while your team is on offense. This isn’t unique to App State. The goal is to keep the stadium as quiet as possible to give our guys the best possible advantage to move the ball. Everyone knows this. Why are we loud when App State plays defense? We want to create such havoc that the other team can barely hear and can be forced into making mental mistakes like a false start. We’ve seen those situations so many times in Kidd Brewer. I’m not going to tell the cheerleading coach HOW to coach the team. But right now the TIMING of the cheers is prompting the crowd to make a lot of noise at the wrong time. We love our cheerleaders. The good news is that this fix is simple: don’t prompt chants or cheers while App State is on offense.
Conference play starts on Saturday. We have the chance to offer a home-field advantage that no one else in the Sun Belt can touch. App State fans can be a real factor with these two changes come Saturday at 3:30.
