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   I think it is very sad that people can go to a university and not support the school and sports.

   What is not fun about going to a sporting event and supporting your school where you are attending? Worse than that, how can you be a member of a sports team and not want to support other sports teams in order to gain support from them during your season? This is a school where you are trying to or already have acquired a degree.

   The University of Arkansas at Monticello played Delta State University, a rival Gulf South Conference school, Feb. 10. The basketball game box score posted a recorded attendance of 538. The men played first and that game was followed by the women's. That attendance dropped to about 60 UAM fans after halftime of the women’s game.

   Could it be that students can only sit on one side of the gym and then you must pick your seats carefully because the team's benches change after each game? We are the only school where the women sit on one bench and the men sit on the opposite. Then you are only allowed to sit so close to everybody else including the opponent fans. It was hard to talk to a few of the players after the game.

   The Cotton Blossoms went into halftime with a 14 -point lead over the No. 8 team in the nation in division II, the Delta State Lady Statesmen. UAM is a member of what is considered to be the toughest division II conference in the nation. Many compare it to the SEC and the ACC of division I conferences.

   So is it the mascot? Now I used to mull at the idea of the mascot being so odd and uncommon. Being the Boll Weevil is OK, but then you have the ladies called the Cotton Blossoms. Let’s see, Boll Weevils are pests that eat cotton blossoms and destroy cotton crops still to this day. That makes UAM men teams rival to UAM women teams. The Boll Weevils were once the name of a minor league baseball team in Texas, but that is no more since they changed their name a few years ago. So could it be that students are half ashamed of the Boll Weevil or the bug?

   Some say that it is a joke on UAM that they have to deal with being mutual rivals. Maybe it is the scare tactic or the chant that is done by raising your arms three consecutive times, yelling the word boll out till the arms rise to their peak, then the dropping of the arms with balled fists to a yell of WEEVILS! Followed by, “Sick’em… yee yee yee yee….” It’s like that of the University of Arkansas hog call.

   I used to debate the call and the mascot myself. I used to think we should be called something more common to the school. The Canadian Geese was a good one, since there were so many surrounding Weevil Pond. I often used to think of us being called the Ducks. We used to have a few ducks that called Weevil Pond home.

   The Cotton Blossoms basketball team just played two road games at what are arguably the two hardest places to play.

   Ouachita Baptist and Harding have the best fan support in the conference. Harding has an average of 846 attendances for their women games and Ouachita averages 286. Not only by the numbers do they support but by setting the mood and the atmosphere. The special-made shirts, the signs, the paint and the taunts all aid in the overall effectiveness support of respective schools teams.

   When the Cotton Blossoms came out of halftime, there were only about 60 UAM fans in the fieldhouse. In a section of bleachers that I sat in, me and one other person watched and cheered them on. The cheerleaders often tried to excite the crowd but to no avail did the crowd respond in a way that was motivational. I think that it is pretty sad that you can’t even get other sport teams to support one another.

   There were less than 20 UAM athletes at the game after the half. We have on this campus softball, baseball, football, cross country, volleyball and golf. We did not have five from each sport to show support till the end of the game. That is very sad, yet each sport club wants equal support. If you don’t support each other, how can you expect other people who aren’t apart of what you are to support you? As far as the players of each sport, I wish you the best and you always have my support.  

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