The day has come: your first North Dakota State Bison football game as a student. The main campus is empty as students flock to the Fargodome.
There is an energy in the air as the Bison get set to raise another championship banner before the game against Cal Poly. The atmosphere is special and can be a little overwhelming at first. To help out any students worried about the crowd, here are some things to help you get through the game.
The first thing you do is stand for the whole game. The only times you are allowed to sit are when there is a TV timeout, a player is injured (to show respect) and when it is halftime. Perhaps the most important reason is so you can see the field because the whole student section will be standing.
When standing, you are able to jump around, give people you’ve never seen before high fives and still have room to dance and move.
You never know when a big play will happen. When it does, you can move right away instead of having to stand and then move and generally look silly jumping up and down. But the Bison just made a huge play, so it doesn’t matter what you are doing.
The second thing you need to know is there are different celebrations students do. The most important ones come after a score.
The first one is the “Yes” chant after a field goal or a point after. For this, you throw both your arms up in the air with your pointer fingers out and yell, “Yes” over and over. WWE fans, you know what to do.
The next big one that you need room for is the shuffle during the kickoffs. This is exactly what it sounds like. Look at the yell leader and they will tell you which way to go, and listen to the band. You shuffle up and down the rows. But be warned, there will always be the one row that goes the wrong way; that’s fine.
Two more cheers that you need room for and have to stand are the “Oooooh’s” and the thunderclap. Yes, that thunderclap.
The “Oooooh’s” happen during the kickoff. Raise your arms into the air and then put them down when the ball is kicked, all while screaming “oh” incessantly. You probably had a variation of this in high school.
The thunderclap happens during the opposing team’s field goal or point after attempts. If you don’t know what the Thunderclap is, it’s the real version of the Skol clap that the Minnesota Vikings do.
This is why you need to stand for the celebrations. Don’t be that person that doesn’t participate in the stands. You will get chirped.
Another big thing that you don’t do at the games is have only a few people save a bunch of seats. You can save some if you sit every other seat, but don’t have only three people to save 10 seats.
Make your friends get there at a reasonable time so you don’t have to have that situation happen. A safe bet is having at least half of the group there when the doors open. Also, if you have a friend who gets in line at 8 a.m., buy them lunch. They are the real MVP.
The biggest thing that you don’t do at the games is leave early. If you have something urgent to attend to, I understand. Homework is homework, so be like a normal college student and do it all Sunday. If you don’t procrastinate, you’re doing college wrong, and you will not be wiser like you would be if you wait.
And don’t leave early to go to the dining center. It doesn’t matter if it’s cheesecake night. They have more, and it’ll be there after the game.
You can leave if the game is a blowout in the fourth quarter. The Bison have made a habit of blowing out teams at home. Then again, most students left the South Dakota State game two years ago and the Jacks came back to claim the Dakota Marker. So it may be worth staying until the end.