Written by Kylie Akins
The stands were empty Saturday night, as one would expect at an NCAA Division 2women’s basketballgame. A handful of dedicated fans sat toward the front of the Rhodes Fieldhouse, but as whistles blew and sneakers squeaked, there was an anxious atmosphere among the small audience.They were waiting for something. Thirty minutes into the game, more students filed in, but the come-early fans on the front row were not satisfied.For three weeks they had pushed and planned for the revival of the Rhodes Rowdies, Harding University’s student-driven basketball fans, but as the first half of the game wore on the stands remained stubbornly vacant.Finally at half-time, they arrived.Fans poured in and filled the stands from front to back. Junior Brett Fielder, a creator of the Rhodes Rowdies Facebook group, looked back at the crowd by the beginning of the Hardingmen’s basketballgame againstOuachita Baptist Universityand saw what he had hoped for: the Harding student body, on its feet and cheering.This was a glimpse of the Rowdies he had seen as a seventh grader visiting Harding.The group that began to push for a Rhodes Rowdies rejuvenation, including Fielder and Junior Harrison Dell, invited more than 450 people by their Facebook group and encouraged by word-of-mouth at least double that amount of students to attend Saturday’s game.The result was a successful “black-out” of the gym and a buzz around campus that the Rowdies were back.”We want people who have never been to to a basketball game at Harding to come and jump in and be complete immersed in all the excitement,” Fielder said. “We just want people to grab a hold of it and make it their own, on a personal and campus-wide level. We want it to be the experience of students now. Not an experience from eight or nine years ago.”Fielder said that the traditional cheers are always game favorites, but with a new group of students there is room for creativity. Dell, who is in TNT with Fielder, said he was excited about the enthusiasm shown at the recent game.”I hope more people will come, [and] we will be louder, more creative,” Dell said. “I hope that it doesn’t become some exclusive thing where only certain people are considered Rhodes Rowdies. Because I just think the basic common denominator is that we’re all here to go nuts for the Bisons.”Jeff Morgan, head coach for Harding’s men’s basketball team, said he appreciated the effort the student body put forth to support the teams. The 79-58 Bison victory only further enthused the Harding fans, and Morgan said he thinks the correlation is clear.”I’ve always said there’s really a strong connection between what’s going on on the floor and what’s happening up in the stands,” Morgan said. “That’s why we have always, as a basketball team, looked at everybody that came to the gym as a huge part of our team and our program. It’s very humbling to come out and the stands are full and people are having fun. I hope people see a team that’s going out there to play really hard for them.”Next home basketball gamesWomen — Monday, Feb. 15, 5:30 p.m.Men — Monday, Feb. 15, 7:30 p.m.
