Fans make a difference

I
’ve been in the gym for nearly every home volleyball game for the last 100 years. 
Okay, so that’s a slight over exaggeration but it’s been a long time between coaching, being a parent, photographing, reffing, and broadcasting. 
At any rate, I have to say how happy my heart was to see the turnout at last Friday’s home opener for the Lady Dogies’ 2021 season. 
There have been moments in the last couple of decades where the Dome has been rocking for our volleyball games, but it has definitely been a minute. Last year, of course, fans were limited due to Covid restrictions, so to see the stands filled with the Dogie faithful on Friday was so appreciated. 
I’ve thought about attendance in the past but really feel like after playing to an empty stadium for a year, having the support of fans in the stands just takes on a whole new meaning. 
Last Sunday as I watched pro football, the announcers made more than one reference to the fact that a fan presence was a game influencer and maybe even a game changer, and it really got me thinking. 
We play for the love of the game, but we also need those supporters in the crowd to build us up and push us to our limits. 
Nerves get a little higher when we know that all eyes are on us, but at the same time, knowing that all eyes are on us also drives us to put our best foot forward with every play. 
Our fans lift us up. 
Looking across the gym and seeing Grandpa (Allen Friesen) taking up his usual spot, and watching Big Mama (Debb Proctor) leading the crowd in “Sweet Caroline” almost got me a little choked up.
A rocking fan presence truly can be the 12th man in football, sixth man in basketball and 12th man in soccer, and I really think they were the seventh man for the volleyball team last Friday. 
When the girls got down in the second set, the fans were there to lift them up and the team turned the tables to come out on top. 
And then a fan presence played against the Lady Dogies in Buffalo on Saturday where the Bison’s student section and pep band were out in full force to provide motivation for their girls.
As we go through the festivities of Homecoming this week, I have also been happy to see the level of school spirit which is alive and well at NHS. The kids are excited and enjoying all the activities, and both the volleyball team and the football team have home games this Friday.
I fully expect both Schoonmaker Field and the Dogie Dome to be packed to the rafters — or the sky — with wildly exuberant fans ready, willing and able to cheer our teams on to victory. We need our fans to be our 12th and seventh man!