Fandom Manifesto Part 2: Step up Torero fans

Right now USD fans are like Smalls at the beginning of "The Sandlot." We're new on the college sports block. Thanks to Benny, Smalls kept up with the mainstays and became one of the guys. If USD fans stick to the principles of the Fandom Manifesto, we can do the same. 

So, fellow USD aficionados, just stand there and put your glove up high in the air. The Manifesto will take care of the rest. 

The USD Fandom Manifesto: 

Be on time for games. Unless you have class or are swarmed by bees, there is no excuse for tardiness. Nothing's worse than the guy who shows up in the second quarter and asks everyone around him, "So how are we doing? How many points does BJ have? Did I miss anything good?" 

Stay for the entire game. Here's the story I always tell: Two years ago when Josh Johnson took the first snap of his final game at Torero Stadium, the student section was overflowing with excited fans, primed for the annual homecoming game. At most games the bleachers don't fill out until mid-way through the first quarter and usually begin thinning out by the beginning of the third, with the score well in favor of the powerhouse home team and outcome no longer in doubt. The more astute absconders may have even noticed the visiting team's bus already warming up. But this game had to be different. It was homecoming. It was senior day. It was the last home game for perhaps the greatest athlete in USD history. And the Davidson Wildcats were actually making a game of it, with the score 28-21 at halftime. Both offenses chartered a textbook on passing the football, USD writing the chapter on west coast passing efficiency and Davidson writing the one on jail break screens. Yet when the Toreros marched out of the locker room, down the concrete hill into the mouth of Torero Stadium for the second half, the student section had disappeared. 

You know when the games are, so if you intend on going, plan your schedule around it. 

Pick your spots. In football, when the offense has the ball, be quiet. When it's a big third down for the defense, get loud. Please, it's not the other way around. One more time: When we have the ball, rest your voice. When we are on defense, get loud. If nothing else just look at the Jumbotron and do what it says. Furthermore let's keep the Bull Sh** chants to a minimum and save them for only the most absurd bad calls. If you're pulling out the B.S. chant more than once or twice every game, you really have to reevaluate your fandom. This might be a result of the lack of games one actually attends. Since the stands are only packed two or three times a year, many of us feel obligated to pull it out since we have so few chances throughout the season. The best solution would be to go to more games. 

Never ever throw anything onto the field/court. Who are we, Cleveland? In our first home game against the Zags two years ago, we (as in the fans, not the team) were T'd up for throwing stuff on the court. Really? Throwing stuff on the court? At a college basketball game? Two noticeable facts stood out about this incident. First of all, Coach Grier had to get on a microphone and ask us to stop. This game was on ESPN2, so the world was watching. Apparently, we have acquired a reputation as "a bunch of spoiled rich kids," as a few outside observers have put it. Secondly, there was no bad call. Our response was a gross overreaction on par with when Sal smashed Radio Rahim's boom box in "Do the Right Thing." At times it seems as if the student section is looking for a reason to explode in anger. As if we have subconsciously predetermined, "You know what, I feel like booing. The next time a call goes against us I'm gonna boo." 

Maintain your cheers. In basketball, keep up the chants going for an entire possession. In football, keep the chants going until the ball is snapped. In baseball, keep it going at least until the next pitch. It sounds terribly lazy when the chant dies off prematurely. Speaking of lazy… 

Never ever sit down in the student section. It is disconcerting how often our student section sits down during lulls in games. In the WCC Tournament the Santa Clara student section even rightly called us out on it with a searing "We-Don't-Sit-Down clap*clap*clap*clap*clap" chant. It was very embarrassing. You can rest when the players rest - during timeouts, between quarters, or any other extended dead ball period. Of course this rule only applies to football and basketball games, though maybe one day, when futbol is more popular in America, we can install it at soccer games too. 

Attend more than just the big games. The Gonzaga and San Diego State basketball games usually fill up to the brim, but at every other Torero sporting event, the number of USD students playing in the game often exceeds the number of USD students watching the game. There is only one more home football game. It is on Saturday. It is free for students. Now I know we're a I-AA program (or "FCS" I guess), so no one expects Rocky Top, but our efforts at the big games show that we have the ability to pack the house and get loud. We just need to do it more often. Basketball, though, is a different story. We have a legitimate program that competes on a national level and this year Bill Grier has brought in arguably the greatest recruiting class in school history. The team is athletic, the team plays hard nose defense and the team competes every night. Basketball crowds can affect the game more than in any other sport- arenas echo noise like a cavern, the nature of the game induces naked emotion and shooting requires an immense precision that can be shaken by external distractions. The USD program is on the cusp of becoming a mid-major power. As fans we have the chance to help push the team over the hill. It would be a shame to miss out on it.

Wear USD colors. Here's the thing though, given the choice between a black USD shirt and a baby blue Chargers shirt, you should go with the latter. Really, in the student section color takes precedence over logo. If you look at some of the best fans across the nation, their student section is a sea of their team's color. Your choices are navy blue, baby blue and white. USD basketball games are not the time to pull out that forest green cardigan you've been wanting to show off. 

Build upon traditions. There have been several fandom traditions that we have made our own. The cheer where one side says "S" and the other side says "D" is solid. The "Ole" chant has become our trademark. Bowing to Gyno while chanting his name was clever and original. The thing where we turn our backs to the court when the other team's cheerleaders perform may be classless and rude, but it's still our own innovation. And we have our "We live where you spring break" motto, in addition to a great nickname for our arena, the Slim Gym. Let's keep building our tradition.