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Fan base helps UA teams as seasons wind down

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat Some faithful Wildcat football fans dressed in their game day gear cheer on the Wildcats during the home game against USC. Wildcat soccer and football fans have their own little tricks up their sleeves to welcome opponents into Tucson.

As UA athletic teams take the field or court each week, they can always count on a large number of rambunctious and vocal fans cheering them on to victory.

Whether it be football, soccer or volleyball, the support is always there, no matter if UA happens to be winning or losing.

The women's soccer team has had the luxury of the "couch guys," a group of UA students who bring a couch to every single game and sit on the sideline beating a drum, cheering for the Wildcats and heckling opposing players.

"The couch guys rock, I love them to death," junior goalkeeper Inger Airheart of the women's soccer team said. "They will make me laugh during the middle of the game. I think that's great because it eases the tension.

"You hear them and they are so funny, I love them...they are definitely the talked-about guys."

The "couch guys" started to bring the couch to games late last year and got such a positive reaction from the soccer team and other fans that they kept it going this year.

Media arts junior Matt Hatchell, leader of the "couch guys," said they get especially rowdy for certain teams the soccer team plays.

"We really dislike the ASU team, we did a real number on them earlier this season," Hatchell said. "We dislike the Pac-10 teams that think they're cooler than us."

The soccer crowds have provided a lot of inspiration for the players especially since they are one of the lower profile UA sports teams.

"Here we're a female sport and you know we always haven't had the greatest record," sophomore midfielder Twila Kaufman said. "They are there, no matter who we are playing, no matter what's going on, never anything negative, ever."

With UA football being one of the higher profile sports at the university, you can normally count on around 50,000 fans attending their games.

Of all the fans, there are always a small group that stand out, like the group of guys who walk around with watermelons on theirs heads and A's painted on the sides of them.

The idea for the watermelons was thought up by Joe Machado, a biology junior, who said the idea just came to him.

Junior Nick Soto has ulterior motives at the games, despite wearing the watermelon hat.

"We all get drunk and go support the team," Soto said.

Many of the football fans this year had high expectations after the team went 12-1 last year, defeating Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl and getting the respect of the national media who ranked them No. 4 in the preseason.

"I was expecting a national championship, but I will settle for the Rose Bowl," Machado said. "I will expect nothing less."

UA offensive line coach Charlie Dickey said the fans always have high expectations and the football team has tried to live up to their expectations.

"Whatever support they can give us will be great," Dickey said. "They do a great job, they're awesome."

Not all sports can claim the support from the fans like the soccer and football teams do.

UA volleyball head coach David Rubio has not been as pleased with the UA fans so far this year.

"I think that for us, we have been disappointed with the turnout," Rubio said. "I think that is conducive with the schedule."

Rubio said the fact that his team plays on Thursday and Friday nights has affected fan turnout. In addition, the team's major homes games against USC, UCLA and Stanford have yet to be played.

Marketing also plays a large role in fan turnout because the more media coverage and promotion UA teams get, the better their turnout is likely to be.

Whether it is through football, soccer, volleyball or basketball - which begins in early November - the UA fans have been a staple in the stands and have their own traditions they like to uphold such as the shaking of the keys at football games to yelling "nice shot buddy" at basketball games.