Support Rice football at homecoming, they’ve earned it
The last time Rice football made a bowl game, the world was singing “Let it Go,” Ebola cases were in the headlines and it had been a mere 52 years since a certain president spoke at Rice Stadium about going to the moon. Yes, 2014 was the last time Rice played postseason football. In the seven full seasons since, the Owls won a grand total of 20 games. But seven games and four wins into this season, they find themselves on the precipice of their first bowl game appearance under head coach Mike Bloomgren. Let’s make sure to show them the support they deserve this weekend.
The team has exceeded expectations so far this year, beating conference powerhouse University of Alabama at Birmingham and ending what was, at the time, the longest active winning streak in Division I college football with a victory over the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. After Saturday’s overtime win against Louisiana Tech University, the Owls sit at fourth place in the conference. With just two more wins, the Owls can guarantee a postseason berth. Conveniently for us, the team has their homecoming game this weekend against the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, with a chance to close in on the postseason.
Anyone who’s ever been to a Rice football game has seen opposing fans outnumber ours, usually by embarrassing margins. Let’s not make the team play its homecoming game in front of a sea of green in the stands, especially during a year in which they’ve earned our support.
This weekend is also Rice’s annual Families Weekend. If you have guests visiting campus, bring them to the game. The team could use all the support it can get, and we should show out for our peers.
With the team set to move to the American Athletic Conference next season, they’ll be playing higher-caliber opponents with bigger fan bases in more visible games. If we don’t want Rice to be embarrassed in the new conference, we have to start showing up to games.
This weekend is our chance to do just that — supporting our team and helping them secure a vital win in their push for the postseason. Show up.
Editor’s Note: Thresher editorials are collectively written by the members of the Thresher’s editorial board. Current members include Ben Baker-Katz, Morgan Gage, Bonnie Zhao, Hajera Naveed, Nayeli Shad, Riya Misra, Michelle Gachelin, Daniel Schrager, Prayag Gordy and Brandon Chen.
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