“Let’s go ‘Canes!  Let’s go ‘Canes!” is a cheer that is heard throughout the Orange Bowl on any Miami Hurricanes game day.  The many traditions such as cheers, songs, and dances that occur at every game are important to the sports fans.  The fans’ process for preparing for a college football game is intense.  They paint their faces and match all their clothes to the school colors, lead cheers to inspire the fans and football players, tailgate for hours before the game begins, sing the fight songs, have the pom-poms handy, and get ready to scream their lungs out for four hours.  I know this process well because I have been going to the University of Miami’s football games since I turned four years old.  Both my parents are alumni of the University of Miami, and as soon as I turned four, they purchased season tickets for the games.  I have always dressed in green and orange from head to toe including my painted face, temporary tattoos, clothes, hair “scrunchie,” and earrings.  I have tailgated for as much as ten hours before the game begins.
            A tradition at my high school football games at the end of every game was that the marching band would play the alma mater and everyone else would sing along.  The fans would rise and hold hands with those sitting around them.  Then the football team would thank the band, cheerleaders, coaches, and trainers for all their hard work. 
            It’s like the University of Miami games where the same process occurs, except the fans do not hold hands.  They raise their right pointer finger (symbolizing that the Hurricanes are number one) and move it slowly from side to side and sing along with the alma mater.  I know most of the fans that have season tickets reasonably well because there is such a strong sense of community among the fans and we have such a great time at the games.  We look forward to seeing each other at the home games to discuss the referees, players and rivalries. 
            Rivalries in college football can tear apart relationships, friendships, neighborhoods and cities.  The most infamous rivalry in college football is between Ohio State University and University of Michigan because of the close proximity of the two colleges.  They usually have strong teams, and both schools are in the Big Ten Conference.  ESPN aired a commercial which showed a man and woman kissing. Then, the camera zoomed out and revealed that the man was wearing an Ohio State shirt and the girl a Michigan shirt. The tagline was "Without sports, this wouldn't be so disgusting."  In 2003 a member of the U.S. House of Representatives even proposed a resolution to recognize Ohio State vs. the University of Michigan as the greatest rivalry in sports history.
                 Other rivalries include the University of Miami and Florida State University as well as the University of Texas and Texas A&M.  A friend of mine had a boyfriend for six months during her senior year and then learned that he planned on attending Florida State University in the fall.  This was a major problem because she was a die-hard Miami Hurricanes fan and would attend the University of Miami in the fall.  She immediately broke up with her boyfriend.  Although he did not fully understand her decision, she felt it was the right thing to do.  Fights frequently break out during games between these rival schools.  Although I cannot understand the motivation to put yourselfin harm’s way, I can understand the frustration and tension between the two teams.
            Even though I have always been a loyal fan of the Hurricanes, sports fans are not generally that loyal to their teams.  Many people are fans only when the team is winning and abandon the team when they are having a bad season.  Such people are not true fans and should not pretend to be, because this disloyalty annoys the real fans.  It seems that loyalty plays a large role in determining the culture of the fan base of the city or state that the sports team is from.  In Florida, and in Miami specifically, sports fans are generally fickle and will support the teams only when they are doing well.  For example, in 1997 and 2003 the Florida Marlins, a baseball team, won the World Series.  During both seasons the stands were about half empty most of the time.  But when the Marlins went to the World Series, everyone claimed to be a Marlins fan and tried to get tickets for the games.  Although I can understand that people would want to see the World Series games more than a regular season game, these are not loyal fans.  The same thing occurred with the Miami Heat, the Miami Dolphins and all of the rest of our sports teams.  The sports communities in Miami are not that strong.  This might be attributed to the culture of the fan base in Miami and the types of people that go to the games.  The sports fans tend to care about appearances.  For example, many people rent “rims,” expensive wheel-covers,  or lease expensive cars that they might not be able to afford, so they can appear to make more money than they do.  Also, the general pace of life is fast.
            In contrast, in Ann Arbor, where the University of Michigan is located, the fans seem to be extremely friendly, helpful, caring and happy-go-lucky.  My family and I have been to several University of Michigan football games because my mom is originally from the Ann Arbor area.  We have met many Wolverine fans while visiting.  The football stadium there is called “The Big House” and has a capacity of 107,501 people.  The season tickets are cherished and are often passed down from generation to generation.  Many families that have season tickets are sure to write the season tickets into their wills.  Even though the stadium is so large, it is still difficult to find tickets, especially season tickets, because the University of Michigan fans are so dedicated.  Also, there are 25,467 undergraduate students currently enrolled at the University of Michigan, which plays into the fact that the stadium is routinely filled.  A majority of the people that attend the games are alumni, staff or members of the community.  No matter how the team plays or ranks, the stadium will always be near capacity.  
            Florida Agricultural and Mining University has a community of fans based not around their football team, but around their marching band that performs at the football games.  The marching band plays in the stands as well as during the halftime show.  They travel everywhere with the team and are a strong support system for the fans and football team.  I do not think many people would attend their games if they did not have the marching band performing.  I believe that the focus on the marching band instead of the football team is due to recruiting.  FAMU is a historically African American college, and many of the best football players do not attend such a college because they would like to play for a stronger team.  The other colleges make more of an effort to draft players out of high school because more emphasis is put on their football teams.  Therefore FAMU’s football team is not the best team, but they have a strong spirit.  Their fan base is spread out across Florida, but everyone comes together to attend their football games. 
            The issue of fan loyalty also occurs outside college football.  One example would be the Boston Red Sox.  Over the years the fans have faithfully supported their team whether they win or lose.  A few weeks ago, I walked past Fenway Park during a game, and I could not believe there was so much excitement going on within a couple mile radius of the stadium, especially since they did not perform that well towards the end of the season.  This shows a lot about the sports fans in Boston.  The Red Sox season was practically over, but the stadium was packed because everyone still wanted to root for his or her home team.  The fans are dedicated and are more concerned about the community they have built than about how many games the team won. 
           College football unites a large community of people that adore the sport.  They religiously watch all the bowl games, have season tickets and argue relentlessly with those who support another team.  Although there are rival schools, the truth is that all the fans and teams have many common interests and end up bonding on some level no matter how much they may fight or argue, because they all support their team.