Got an interesting viewpoint? Have a unique story that you would like to see published? FlamesNation is looking for you! We are doing a new series called FlameFans Featured (“FFF”). We will periodically select one of your ideas, and you can write a column or article to be posted on LibertyFlamesNation.com.
So, any of you that want to have a piece published on LFN, e-mail us with the subject line FF Featured.
Here is our first entry…
To the Liberty students who go to football games,
I made my annual trip back to the mountain last weekend for homecoming. My spot on the front row of the upper deck was comfortable and a great view, but I couldn’t help but miss that familiar place in the front row of the student section right on the 50 yard line. For three years, that spot was my spot. I could tell you stories of pranks we pulled, chants we did, and all the ways we made Williams Stadium a nightmare for other teams to play in.
Your shear number is impressive. Even more impressive is your creativity. We wore t-shirts and said funny things. You are painting up as entire dorms, going over the top with the costumes, and thinking through things in ways that we never even considered.
If it’s okay with you, I’d like to pass along one suggestion. I don’t want to be that guy who graduated and acts like things were so much better when he was in school. That’s not my intention at all. My hope is that you guys become the best student section in FCS football and make The Bill into a place that isn’t just noticed, but is feared.
You are loud. You are enthusiastic. You are energetic. The one thing you are not is united. Right now we have different dorms and groups doing their own thing. All of those things, on their own, are awesome. However, if they came together, they could do things that would make people talk about them six years later.
When I was in your shoes, I led a group called The LUnatics. We stood at midfield every single game. To our left was a dorm who wore white shirts and red ties to each week. They called themselves the Society of Windsor. Our two groups had a mutual understanding that while our groups each had their own personalities, we were Liberty fans first and were better when we worked together. The Society let us lead the chants and cheers and we let them do the push-up after a score thing. When they had ideas for chants, they brought them to us to do. When we had ideas, we told them before we chanted them so we could all do it at once.
We took the extra step to make sure we knew what each other was doing during a game.
Right now you are Jerry’s Jokers, Becki’s Babes, the Glitter Guys, and whatever the pest control dudes are normally. More than that though, you are Liberty fans. Whether you realize it or not, your groups can lead an entire stadium in chants and cheers.
The Baptist side will follow the student side if you lead us well.
One more story before I’m done: at the 2007 spring game, a dorm of guys started saying something after first downs. Everyone knew to say “first down” after the announcer said, “And that’s another Liberty…” It took a few times hearing it to figure out what the dorm were saying, but eventually we realized they were chanting, “Ooooh. Move those chains! Move those chains! Move those chains! Huh!”
What started as a dorm doing their own thing turned into a chant our entire stadium does without even thinking.
It got to that point because we worked together.
You guys are a really, really good student section right now. I want to see you be great. Keep doing what you’re doing, just do it together.
Always a LUnatic,
Jonathan Carone
Liberty ’08
LBTS ’10
Jonathan Carone started The LUnatics in 2006 and is still bitter he didn’t win Big South Fan of the Year in 2008. He’s now a writer and designer. You can find him at ThisIsntHighSchool.com.
