I love going to sporting events at Cornell. Sitting in the stands with friends, screaming at the tops of our lungs and supporting our friends on the field, I don’t think I can think of anything more entertaining to do most weekends. It’s a nice break most days to attend a game in person because as great as it is to watch your favorite teams on T.V., seeing them in person just does not compare.
This fall I decided that I wanted to cover men’s soccer again. I wrote about the team last season and fell in love with the game. I wasn’t a big soccer fan to begin with (or at all, to be completely honest), but after watching the team play a few times and seeing the fans go wild in the stands, I was hooked! This season has been pretty great so far, especially now that the guys are 9-0, but until this weekend, the stands haven’t been packed.
At the beginning of the season, I made a deal with myself to go to all the games that I can — including a ridiculous attempt at a road trip with my two best friends to Vestal, N.Y. to see Cornell play against Binghamton. So, on Saturday night, I planned on going to see the Red face off against Penn. I’ve never been one to be on time for anything, so naturally I was running a few minutes late to the game. The first sign that something was up should have been that there was almost no parking, but I was too busy trying to navigate my large SUV into a tiny spot to notice that right away. So, I walked up to the side of Berman, flashed my student ID at the gate and after being blinded by the stadium lights, I saw something spectacular. No, it wasn’t the team on the field, but rather the fans in the stands. Berman was packed!
There were so many people in Berman that I wasn’t sure if my friends and I would find somewhere to sit. We eventually found a spot in the middle of the field in front of the video tent and I surveyed the stands. I saw some of the soccer players’ parents, people who came out to support Penn (read: those poor souls), athletes from other teams and then to the far left I saw a large block of guys — including a ton of frat bros. They were standing on the benches (read: taking a page out of the Lynah Guide) and chanting at the players on the field. I couldn’t make out everything that they were saying, but they cheered about head coach Jaro Zawislan, Stephen Reisert (affectionately known as “Chubs”) and from all the “ehs,” I’m guessing Daniel Haber.
I don’t think my friends and I have laughed as when we saw all the guys in the stands go crazy after Stephen scored the game winner. All you could hear was “Chubs! Chubs! Chubs! Chubs!” It’s great to see that players have their own cheering sections in the stands. From the looks of it, all the guys — and a few girls — have a great love for Stephen “Chubs” Reisert. I hoped that the players on the field appreciate the pure love that goes into the ridiculous chants that the fans seem to think up, but after talking to Rick Pflasterer in our after-game interview, fans should rest assured that they do. They can hear all that the fans shout on them, so I’m guessing that the refs heard you fans in the stands screaming “Bullsh*t! Bullsh*t! Bullsh*t!” after that questionable call. I think they were just ignoring you. So Rude.
I think that cheering from under the lights in Berman is an experience that every Cornell sports fan should try at least once. And now that the team is 9-0 and entered into Ivy League play, every game is bound to be a thrilling rollercoaster ride to watch. I can’t wait until Oct. 13 when Yale comes to town.
Original Author: Lauren Ritter