Devin RuicFor those of us who regularly attend Mercyhurst sporting events, in particular hockey games, this year has been more than a little disappointing.

Not because of our teams, and all that can be said of the men’s team is that they tried their hardest and played a very good game against Canisius on Saturday. Instead, this year has been disappointing from the standpoint that the students of this college seem detached from the games and remain almost entirely silent during even the most exciting portions of the games.

I may sound like I am echoing John Baranowski’s opinions on the subject, and in part that is true. Since last year, I have helped John announce for our ACHA D1 Men’s hockey team, alongside Devon Swanson. There has been a huge difference between the activities and involvement of the students my freshman year and the two years following. Even when students grace our amazing hockey teams with their presence, most seem more concerned with texting one another than the games themselves.

There is some hope.

The Laker Spirit Club is trying very hard to get more students excited about the games, and their events can only be praised. Yet it still shouldn’t be that way – if you attend a hockey game where the best female team in the nation is playing, shouldn’t you already be excited? Even a quarterfinal game against Boston University was eerily quiet, save some brave male students who painted “Go Lakers” on their chests and dyed their hair.

That small group of guys should not have to carry an entire fan base, though, and the largest majority of so-called Mercyhurst supporters decided that they were better served remaining impassive and silent during the game, rather than joining in with the attempted cheers.

I think that we can start turning the tide of this poor participation by reinstating the well-defined student sections that we enjoyed my freshman year. Yes, sitting all together does leave portions of our already depressingly small arena empty, but it could also help some of our lazier fans get excited about the games by osmosis or the like.

We are a bunch of twenty-something young adults, purportedly active, strapping, virile and such things like that, yet I have seen too many groups of you cheer like octogenarians asking politely for a bit more soft food.

The next time you want to come to any Mercyhurst sporting event, particularly one in which we are literally the best, it might be nice if you left your canes and dentures at home, pulled yourselves off the stands by your bootstraps and started acting like you’re proud to be here and have such good athletes.

Just to make sure I’ve got all my bases covered here, this indictment includes the residents of the Francis Warde Hotel & Casino, who have by all accounts been some of the worst offenders this year.