Last week, I wrote about how much I love UTM. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is my feelings toward the Skyhawk spectators.

I am extremely disap-pointed with them after Thursday night’s football game. I understand that the halftime show was a big crowd draw, but in case you forgot, there would be no halftime show if there were no game.

When the bands were done, I couldn’t count the number of fans, and I use that term loosely, who ran for the gates. Even more left in the third quarter. The crowd was very sparse during the last 15 minutes of the game.

At halftime, the score was 14-6, and at the end of the third it was 14-13. How do you leave when the game is that close? True, the Skyhawks did lose to the Tigers, but who’s to say that that would have been the outcome of the game if more fans had stayed?

Believe it or not, the players do know that there are fans at the game. The support from the crowd is a huge motivation factor. There was a noticeable difference in the caliber of play from halftime to the end of the game. I’m not saying that the crowd was the reason for this, but I don’t think it’s entirely a coincidence.

If there are no fans, who do the athletes play for?

So, to the students, facutly and members of the community reading this: SUPPORT THE SKYHAWKS!!!!

Since I’ve been at UTM I’ve missed only one home football game. If you can find time to put off studying to go to a kegger, you can put it off to support athletics. After all, they’re called YOUR Skyhawks for a resaon.