Passion pays off for sports fans

As long as there have been sporting events, fans have been there.

They fill the seats to watch and to cheer for the players.

They’re enthusiastic. Passionate. Knowledgeable. Sportsmanlike. Leaders.

Those all are words used by area students to describe fans.

For some, being a good fan goes hand-in-hand with being an athlete.

“A lot of us do both. We’re fans and players,” Wellsville High School senior Erica Layton said.

“Being on the field is great, but being in the stands is a whole different feeling all together,” Ottawa High School junior Jake Huddlestun said.

A cheer can be a good way to unite a crowd. Cheers can be simple or complex.

Some cheers are made up on the spot, West Franklin High School junior Josh Simms said. Others are well-known — traditions passed down from class to class.

“The good ones get passed down,” OHS senior Jena Richardson said.

“Then, you try to think up new ones to outdo the old ones.”

And nothing is written down.

“Everyone just knows what to do,” West Franklin senior Cord Cunningham said. “We learned from the upperclassmen, and we will pass them along to the others.”