By Barbara Ron
Nearly a year into the pandemic University of Maryland athletes are just grateful they get to play.
But that does not mean they did not miss their supporters during the months playing without spectators. COVID-19 brought about changes in sporting event attendance policies and players said they felt the absence of fans on game days.
Student fans were not the only ones missing from the stands. Players’ original cheerleaders — their families — were not allowed at games either.
“My family comes to every home game and this year they haven’t been able to come to one,” said Reese Mona, a business and management graduate student who plays for the men’s basketball team. “So it’s been a bummer, just always good to see them in the stands at home games.”
Recently, the university started to allow families to watch games for the first time this school year. Each player received four tickets for immediate family.
When it comes to the “12th man on the field” players have missed the support their fellow students and UMD community give them during game day. Paul Bin, a redshirt senior and graduate student on the men’s soccer team, said he thrives on fans’ energy.
“Especially when you’re playing at home and you have all these people supporting you. It’s extra motivation, it’s extra encouragement. It’s just an extra player almost, playing on the field with you,” Bin said.
As for the cardboard cutouts that have been used from collegiate sports all the way to professional sports, some players feel that it’s wholesome to have pictures of their families and pets there. Other players don’t even notice them.
“I think it’s a great idea. It’s a great way to not only make money but for people playing to be able to see little kids and also family members in the crowd essentially is a cool feeling,” said Catherine DeRosa, a freshman communications major on the women’s soccer team.
At times with the lack of fans, some players felt that games resembled scrimmages or past times when they played in club teams, but this doesn’t take away from their commitment to playing their best.
“Every time we go out to play a game or train, we always emphasize to make the best out of it and to definitely have so much fun and push each other just because you really never know when it could all get taken away from you,” said Kacy Hogarth, a freshman women’s lacrosse player. “You just never know, it’s a year of unknowns, as my coach likes to say,” she said.
Teams from all sports have adapted to regular COVID-19 testing, restricted social lives, training with masks and playing in stadiums with no fans. Players are relying on each other to hype each other up.
“We’re lucky that we’ve been allowed to play … Given the chance to play, that’s all now we [have] really asked for and that’s what we got,” said Jamie Lowell, a freshman English major on the men’s soccer team.
Some players rely on their natural competitive drives to beat their opponents.
“It is what it is, I’m still going to play as hard as I can with or without fans,” said Diamond Miller, a sophomore family science major on the women’s basketball team.
Fans are eagerly waiting to enter arenas and sit in bleachers again to support their favorite athletes. Reese Levin is a junior journalism major and director of communications for The Pride, a student fan organization of UMD Athletics.
Levin said it has been a challenge to cover sports because of the adjustments made for
After a long time of no fans, Levin attended the women’s basketball game on March 6. It was the first time that any fans were allowed.
“That was the first time that I had been in a crowd, whether I was covering or working the game, that had fans. So it was definitely weird. Because I’ve been so accustomed to seeing empty stadiums.”
Regardless of what is going on around them, when game day comes these athletes will leave it all on the field.
Featured image: Women’s soccer player Catherine DeRosa enjoyed seeing cardboard cutout fans at games when families were not able to come due to precautions. Photo courtesy Catherine DeRosa.