Part 2 of the Baylor Homecoming Report

As I said in Part 1, this game left me feeling much better about my school’s football team. It was one of their better all-around played games of the year. Yes, it was against Kansas, but we still held to them under 100 yards passing, and that’s an accomplishment for anyone, especially this defense. Personally I think the fans played a role in getting this team revived along with the lightning delay that I think has the potential to spark the Bears’ team for the rest of the season. See what I did there?

We’re going to separate this into the good and the bad of the Homecoming game. Starting with…the bad. During halftime it was announced that the game was to be delayed to lightning in the area and the threat of hail to come later. I never moved my seat, but about 75% of the crowd decided that the rain wasn’t for them and left the homecoming game…the homecoming game!

After every score the scoreboard screen always shows a birds-eye view of the stadium and it was pathetic to see how incredibly empty Floyd Casey was. There were about as many people left at the game after the delay as there are guys living in the third floor of Penland. That’s about it for the bad stuff though. Now, on to the good!

The tagline to my post last week was that everyone loves a winner, and you only find out who the true fans are once you start losing. Well, the true fans stuck it out throughout the delay, and it made for a very fun atmosphere for those that were left in the student section. Us students in the Baylor Line kept ourselves entertained any which way possible really. Ultimately though, we just started going through all of the Baylor chants. Despite the small numbers, we even managed to get a stadium yell going. During all of this cheering the players took the field to mark the end of the rain delay and those left in the students section went crazy. The players seemed surprised to see us still there/cheering as loud as we were. It was welcomed though. They came out of the tunnel like it was just something they had to do, but once they heard the cheers definitely had more bounce in their step.

The line went through just about every chant there was, and even got a Terrance Williams (Terrence Williams) chant going. Williams wouldn’t show it, but I know he appreciated it. The defensive in particular really seemed to get hyped up throughout us just being loud. Ahmad Dixon in particular. So, taking all of this into effect, I’m going to say that the crowd had a big impact on this game, even if the stadium was only 25% full. They were pumped up and played, well, played like they were playing for something for once. They were playing inspired football. This inspired football led to the defense giving up 0 points in second half. Yes ZERO. It was very exciting to watch.

Another reason why I think the crowd played a major role in the victory is because of how excited Art Briles was after the game. I had heard rumors that Briles sometimes comes over and addresses the Baylor Line students after the game, but it hadn’t happened up until this point. Well, after this game, when the That Good Old Baylor Line was done playing, Briles started making his way over to where all of us were standing. He seemed noticeably enthusiastic and came over yelling something. I couldn’t make out what, but it was something positive and very enthusiastic. That man was pumped up for Baylor’s win against Kansas. Right before he left he threw up an autographed hat that had the final score, homecoming game, and wish own signature written on it. I know this, because the girl right next to me caught it. Briles was excited, we were excited, and the players were definitely excited.

Not to be left out of the good for the Homecoming game was the performance of the Golden Wave Band before the delay took place. The band honored the equestrian team by forming a horse on the field and gave it the optical allusion of it galloping. They also honored the Baylor Women’s Basketball team by having a stick figure dribbling then shooting a basketball into a hoop. It was really cool. (Good job Kate) It got the students to their feet and applauding…for the band. That doesn’t happen often.

Overall, I left very excited from this game. They gave me a lot to look forward to as the season continues. They finally have something to build on and finally look like they believe. I haven’t even mentioned the running game of Lache Seastrunk and Glasco Martin yet, but wow were they awesome. I’ve been asking for this thunder and lightning look for a long time and I finally got to see it. I also ironically got to see and hear actual thunder and lightning. Coincidence? Probably. The defense finally looked like a defense and Terrance Williams, well, was Terrance Williams. I’m excited going forward. Off to Norman next week to take on the Sooners!