MEN'S SOCCER DAILY UPDATE

August 18, 2008

A Tune up for the Fans As Well

The Binghamton-Syracuse game also was an opportunity for another group of people to get ready for the regular season--the student fan club which refers to themselves as the BU Soccer Hooligans. On Sunday night against Syracuse, around a dozen or so members of the group showed up to work on their cheering, chanting and singing.

Started last season, the group numbered over 100 by the time the playoffs rolled around. This year, BU Soccer Hooligans President Erwin Seguia has big things planned.

"We have a great outlook for this season," Seguia said. "We are hoping to get more people out here and to travel to the games at Colgate (Sept. 5), Cornell (Sept. 26) and Albany (Oct. 8). We have 175 people on our list right now and we hope to get 300-400 (students) by the end of the semester."

As Seguia puts it, starting up the BU Soccer Hooligans was relatively easy, given the rate of success the Bearcats have had the past several years.

"The way this team plays is great for the fans to watch," he said. "This team is a credit to the university. They make the school look good."

If the BU Soccer Hooligans appreciate the men's soccer team, the same is true the other way around.

"We really appreciate their support, their energy, their enthusiasm and their passion for the Bearcats," head coach Paul Marco said. "Our guys try to give it a little bit extra when it's late in the match and we are tired and you hear them singing our name. We find a little bit more energy in the tank with them behind us."

During Sunday's exhibition game against Syracuse, even the opponent respectfully acknowledged the BU Soccer Hooligans presence in the stands. When the Orangemen tied the game at 1-1, one of their players went towards the Hooligans section of the bleachers, smiled and waved. Seguia knew the gesture was good-natured.

By their own admission, the BU Soccer Hooligans were a little rusty in some of their chants at this point in the year but their knowledge of the Bearcats did shine through at a pivotal moment. When sophomore Scott Zobre subbed into the game midway through the second half, they broke out into a chorus of wishing him a happy birthday.

"We keep up with all of the players through the internet and Facebook," Seguia said. "Our goal is to have a different chant for each of the players by the end of the season."

Overall, the dozen or so members of the BU Soccer Hooligans were simply glad to have a chance to return to the Bearcats Sports Complex this early in the season.

"It's still a week before school starts so a lot of people aren't back," Seguia said. "But we haven't had our dose of soccer for about a year so the guys here today were just itching to come back."

Posted August 18, 2008 at 9 a.m.
Feedback should be sent to dobrian@binghamton.edu.