Win or lose, Cats fans should support their team every game

On Saturday UK’s football team suffered their third loss of the season at the hands of the Mississippi State University Bulldogs.

Even though the Cats are now No. 23 in the USA Today poll, I can only hope that fans will continue to support their Cats, but from what I saw at the Mississippi State game, it looks like the Wildcats didn’t have many real fans on their side in the first place.

Earlier in the season, after the Wildcats defeated the University of Louisville, fans started to jump on the bandwagon. People that never cheered for the Cats or came to games started showing up.

Wins over the University of Arkansas and Louisiana State University were huge, and no doubt the win over LSU was the biggest. When UK hosted then No. 1 ranked LSU, Commonwealth Stadium was rocking, and the atmosphere was amazing.

After the win, the UK fan base was no doubt at its peak. People wanted the football season to continue and for Billy Gillispie’s reign over men’s basketball to hold off a little bit longer.

But the week after that, the true colors of these bandwagon fans showed.

In the fourth quarter of the game against the University of Florida, the Gators scored a touchdown with one minute and thirty-three seconds left, pretty much sealing the Cats’ defeat. Then I saw something that a true fan wouldn’t do, something you wouldn’t do if you truly believed in a team.

The student section started to clear out.

Those loud and supporting fans were no more. The fans shouting “we believe” over and over again were heading to the nearest bar to start a night of partying.

They had forgotten all about the team on the field that had just fought for sixty minutes and lost a heartbreaker.

Last weekend against the Bulldogs it was even worse. The student section was barely even two-thirds full, and the fans that were once there were nowhere to be seen.

Yes, the weather was bad, and yes, the game was at 12:30 in the afternoon. But still, can you not come out and support your team? We are playing somewhat well, but still, you insist on staying in and sleeping to get ready for a night of partying.

If you look around the nation, regardless of the time or weather during the game, fans stay to support their team. ESPN.com reported that even though teams like Ohio State University and LSU have faced bad teams this year, they have still had almost record crowds this season. The University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish are going through one of their worst seasons in years, but their students always stick around and sing their fight song, win or lose.

We’re no LSU, Ohio State or Notre Dame, but I still don’t understand why we, as a student body, can’t support our team. I can only hope the trend of thinning crowds and less-enthusiastic fans will change, and instead of about 200 students yelling the C-A-T-S chant, there will be thousands there yelling and cheering on their Cats.

Bryan Kennedy is a journalism sophomore. E-mail opinions@

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