David Mkhael Sweitzer · NewcomefSlOllln. OH hffrey AlLen T aDman - Rochester. MI lwa Elizabeth Talbon . Riverdale , GA .ld&ey Wayne Tague · Grandview, MO David Wavne Tmtilkr - Gainesville , FL Mary Beth Tennant - Princeton, WV Cynlhllo Faye Thomas - Ra ytown , MO Student Leads 'Wave' of School Spirit It was Saturday night. One section of the crowd on the bleachers at Alumni Field jumped up and hollered causing another section to get up and do the same , and then another. This action caused the rippling motion across the stands called "the wave. " Leading the fans through this and several other cheers was Jeff Teague , a juniorfrom Kansas City , MO. It was a familiar scene at Bison home games to see Jeff Teague run up and down the bleachers encouraging fans to yell for ihe football team. Teague had several reasons for making everyone get on their feet. "I like to see people get excited about something," he said. 011 have a great time, that's why I do it." . More importantly, Teague wished to increase school spirit. Where's the Beach? Jeff Teague is a fan of all Bison sports. During a game against the Henderson State Reddies , Teague goes native to get the fans warmed even though the temperature outside drops below freezing. - photo by Matt Wissinger. 242 Juniors "I knew everybody wanted to yell at the games, they just didn't have anybody to get them going." Teague said. Teague also believed that by increasing school spirit, students would learn the importance of unity. "Lately there has been a lack of unity in the home and that stems into other aspects of our lives, " he explained. "If people come to a football game and yell and scream together, it's going to bring them closer together." By pulling together for the Bisons, Teague said that the fans could apply it to their lives in other ways. "If there is a national crisis, the nation will have _to pull together as a whole," he said , "If people experience this in little select groups, then it is easier to pull together as a big group. A lot of people don't realize this." Teague said that the fact that he played for the Bisons his freshman year also conttibuted to his enthusiasm for the team. "I know how hard those guys work," he said. "It was really depressing to be on the sidelines and not hear any cheers," Teague remembered. "You know the people are rooting for you but you don't hear them." . Although Teague's high school, Grandview High School in Kansas City , was very school-spirited with a pep club of 150 members, he felt that right now the spirit here at Harding is better. Fan support always played a part at Teague's high school. He said that Grandview would hold huge pep rallys and "everyone came." Teague said that knowing the fans supported the team helped him and his teammates to play better. Teague said that he would continue to yell for the Bisons in order to promote spirit, and he also planned to yell for. the basketball team. "I hate to see football players leave a Christian school just because there's not enough school spirit for the team," be said. HBut it does happen'" f -eague had great respect for the football team and the coaches. "I think the Bisons proved to the conference this year that they have some exceptional athletes on the team," he explained. "I also think the coaches are doing all they can to make the football team 100 percent, and I think the fans should do the same." Teague said that he couldn't take all the credit for the cheers he led, which he either had suggested to him or he used in high school. "Most of the credit goes to people who cheer ," he said. "The people have to be willing to cheer. If I got up and nobody listened, it wouldn't do any good. " He believed everyone would have fun at the games if they cheered, even if they don't know anything about football. "Even if you don't know a whole lot about the game you can have a good time if you're yelling and screaming," he explained. Teague said he had gotten mostly positive feedback from the players, students and faculty members. They told him that they appreciated what he was doing. And he appreciated the fans, too, as much as they appreciated him. He said that the fans showed their support even at away games and cited the Ouachita Baptist University game as an example of support helping the team to come back. He also said that the Harding fans were louder than the OBU fans and it was OBU's homecoming game. iiJIf;;;, - Liz Herrel .,
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