“’Ray Bucknell” denotes both school pride and personal pride in being a piece of the whole; a whole that, on the whole, is pretty damn impressive. From athletics to scholarship to extracurricular engagement, University students are involved on multiple levels.

For some reason, however, this supposed pride that a huge number of students feel for both the University and being a University student stops just short of supporting one of the highly-touted facets of life here at the University: its athletes and athletic teams. The huge amounts of spirit, ‘Ray, and orange & blue demonstrated to first-years (and their families alike) during events like the Pep Rally and Color Games during New Student Orientation sharply contrast the lackluster fandom during actual sporting events that represent our school.

Since the fall, our varsity teams have captured four of the coveted Patriot League Championship titles (women’s cross-country, women’s soccer, men’s water polo, and women’s indoor track & field), yet the stands are largely empty and the crowds are sparse, even at high-profile games.

To what do we owe this misplaced apathy? Time commitment is certainly a big factor (refer to the aforementioned point about huge levels of involvement across disciplines and activities), but certainly any student can clear 20 minutes in their busy days for a study break, especially when it means they have the opportunity to watch their peers reap the benefits of the countless hours of blood, sweat, and tears that they dedicate to their sport.

But it’s not too late – both the men’s and women’s basketball teams have made it into at least the quarterfinals of the Patriot League Championships, and lucky for us, both are being held in Sojka Pavilion. Do your part in supporting your peers, peers who have worked incredibly hard to represent their school in a highly competitive Division I league. Your chance for redemption as a fan is eminent – pack the stands, and make the other team hear your vocal support.