Soccer fans drum up home team support

Photo by Jason Hostetter

Tyler Kauffman, Jared Stoltzfus, and Lindsey Frye have a bang-up time.

Royals fans who have attended any men's home soccer games lately may have seen-or heard-a musical phenomenon sweeping EMU's Bomberger field.

Equipped with metal trash cans and lids, pots and pans, a drywall bucket, African drums, and a multitude of random noisy objects, a group of students have taken it upon themselves to provide enthusiastic, constant, and, most noticeably, thunderous support for the men's soccer team.

Senior group leader Matt Gnagey said the drumming began when junior midfielder Michael Stauffer and a few friends discussed the team's apparent inability to score goals at home matches. They realized that the lack of goals might be related to the lack of enthusiasm displayed by the fans present at the games; soon, someone realized that "beating trash cans and cheering loudly" could be just what the Royals needed to pull out of their home-game slump.

So a group of fans, including seniors Nick Buckwalter, Eliot Swartz, Ben Schlabach, Chris Fretz, Nathan Maust, and a few others, gathered their "instruments" and headed to the field. The group has since stirred up the games with their lively beats and chants. Although they have only been able to attend three men's home games, the energy the group has created is evident in the improving record of the soccer team, as well as the larger turnout of fans at the games.

The drumming group, as of now, only includes 5-10 members, but it is looking to expand. As Gnagey states, "Anyone who wants to should feel more than welcome to come down, grab a stick, and beat on any of the various noisemaking things. The more people helping out makes it more enjoyable and makes for better chants, so come on down, and you're welcome to bring your own things to make noise with if you have stuff."