On Saturday, four busloads of students endured the bumpy two-hour trip to Williamstown to watch the Lord Jeffs beat the Williams Ephs for the NESCAC title. This group was much larger than expected; Social Council had to rent an additional bus in order to meet the demand to attend “The Biggest Little Game in America.” The Amherst bleachers were packed with screaming fans, students and alumni alike, and purple and white dominated the Amherst side of the field. The substantial turnout of supporters was impressive, inspiring and — unfortunately — atypical.

This was a stark contrast to the preceding football game against Trinity College. Because it was Family Weekend, there were more people than usual, but not nearly the number of people that attended the game at Williams. Furthermore, there was a lack of energy from the fans even though it was a vital game in the Jeffs’ run towards an undefeated season.

In the past, Amherst school spirit at sports games can only be described as atrocious. There have even been times when the number of fans for the visiting team exceeds the number of Amherst fans, effectively taking away the home field advantage that can be so important to a team. For example, in the Jeffs’ 13-12 win over Bowdoin in the first home game of the year, there were barely 50 people cheering on our players during a crucial battle.

Not only is school spirit an important unifying factor for fans in the stands, it also has positive effects for the players on the field. The energy that a screaming, cheering crowd of supporters generates is transmitted to the team and feeds their momentum as they fight for the win. The fans are not mere spectators to a game. If we want our teams to do well, we need to hold up our end of the bargain as supporters and show the same level of enthusiasm that we showed at Williamstown.

However, the dearth of school spirit affects more than sports. The state school experience is characterized by a wardrobe resplendent with the school’s colors, dutiful game attendance, and spontaneous bursts of school cheers. Even with our comparatively tiny student body, we have yet to parallel this unity, which creates both solidarity and devoted alumni. Few people even know of the existence of the Amherst Fight Song. We believe that last weekend was a good starting point for a new era in Amherst sporting pride. To kick off this era, we include below the lyrics to our fight song, “Lord Jeffrey Amherst” with the hope that the student body learns it and sings it with gusto during our winter sports season.

Oh, Lord Jeffrey Amherst was a soldier of the king

And he came from across the sea,

To the Frenchmen and the Indians he didn’t do a thing

In the wilds of this wild country,

In the wilds of this wild country.

And for his royal majesty he fought with all his might,

For he was a soldier loyal and true,

And he conquered all the enemies that came within his sight

And he looked around for more when he was through.

Oh, Amherst, brave Amherst

’Twas a name known to fame in days of yore,

May it ever be glorious

’Til the sun shall climb the heavens no more.

Oh, Lord Jeffrey Amherst was the man who gave his name

To our College upon the Hill

And the story of his loyalty and bravery and fame

Abides here among us still

Abides here among us still

You may talk about your Johnnies and your Elis and the rest

For they are names that time will never dim

But give us our only Jeffrey, he’s the noblest and the best

’Til the end we will stand fast for him.