The Guide: Cheering for Big Blue
Last week was the first home game and a lot of freshmen looked confused. To help you understand the cheers, The Nevada Sagebrush sat down with Blue Crew President Chris Driscoll and talked to him about the importance of cheering.
Why we cheer
“Cheering helps the fan stay in the game, gives the fans a commonality of purpose and helps the players by letting them know that the fans support them,” Driscoll said.
Cheering also gives a disadvantage to the opposing team, he said.
“The most important thing in football is being able to hear the quarterback,” Driscoll said. “Cheering as loudly as possible when the other team is on offense makes it more likely that they will get distracted and mess up.”
When to cheer
Cheer when Nevada is on defense. We don’t want our players to miss important words from the quarterback. That’s not saying be perfectly silent when they’re offensive, either. After every touchdown, sing the fight song.
Chant the first down cheer after every first down. The band will guide you. Every time they play “Tuxedo” (the Michigan fight song) join in on the “Go-Big-Blue” cheer.
What to cheer: The fight song was taken from the old song “Hail to our Sturdy Men.” The lyrics were changed in order to cater to both sexes, Driscoll said.
“The song was changed so it can be played at every game for every sport,” he said.
For those who don’t know the lyrics, engrave this in your mind now:
“Hail to our sturdy team!
Loyal and true,
March, March on down that field
Oh Silver and Blue.
We’ll give a long cheer for Nevada’s team,
See them break through again,
Fighting for our own U of N to
Victory!
N-E-V-A-D-A…NEVADA!”
Go-Big-Blue!
When fans finish the last notes to “Tuxedo” and the band stops, the crowd should yell in a three-count “Go-Big-Blue!”
First-down cheer
Every first down is followed by counting to three and holding up corresponding fingers with the number. After reaching the number three, yell “First down!” and extend your arm horizontally.
Cheering properly
Blue Crew wants fans to be positive about cheering. Cheering for our team and not rooting against the other shows school spirit, Driscoll said. It would be better for the players to see a crowd of blue cheering for the team, rather than a crowd yelling against each other.
When asked about the anti-UNLV issue, Driscoll said, “I’m not opposed to anti-UNLV cheers. However, we need to support a good image. If that means not chanting against the Rebels, then so be it.”
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on Tuesday, September 25th, 2007 at 2:05 am and is filed under News, The Guide.
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