As the school year has just begun, students are checking the football schedule to see when there are home games to attend, and the fight to get those seats begin.
The magic of gameday lies in the school spirit that surrounds the experience of watching these games. The University's essence is embodied by ASU fans wearing maroon and gold outfits, cheerleaders chanting to get the audience excited and the marching band playing energizing music.
"There's some people who maybe don't know as much about football, and they just enjoy watching the whole environment," Bianca Caryl, the ASU Spirit Squad coordinator and faculty associate for the Sun Devil Athletics Band Instruction, said.
Not only is the audience participating with school spirit, but cheerleaders and the marching band hold the purpose of supporting and kindling energy on the field.
"We believe that cheerleaders and dancers are athletes in our own right, and we are an athletic program that helps support the school spirit and the fan engagement for all the other programs," Caryl said. "There's something for everyone."
While maintaining school spirit throughout games, it's important to keep the audience excited.
"We're going to try to support our team and be good sports, but also try to make it a little bit uncomfortable for the visiting team when they're in our house," James Hudson, the director of ASU Athletic Band programs, said.
While a touchdown or a field goal is scored, the marching band plays a catalog of modern and traditional songs.
"We try to provide atmosphere by putting tunes ... like 'Pink Pony Club,' but we try to play stuff that our older fans might appreciate too," Hudson said. "Our playlist is pretty immense and pretty diverse."
As the traditions of marching band and cheerleading add to the experience of gameday, the overall spirit that the audience brings to games is what makes them memorable, Amaya Mitchell, a freshman studying marketing, said.
"Everyone is a family at the game, and everyone is there for the same reason," Mitchell said.
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Mitchell said dressing up can help to get into school spirit for the game, but there's also other ways that the audience can participate in the hype.
Traditions, such as shaking your car keys, can contribute to an unique experience that students enjoy immensely, Mitchell said.
Hudson said even the pregame includes traditions such as the fight song and other school anthems that fans have embraced.
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The University's traditions, loud band music and an audience that fills the stands make gameday an experience to remember.
"I tried to embrace the traditions of pregame but make it flow a little more modern," Hudson said. "It's a lot of old and a lot of new."
Edited by Kasturi Tale, George Headley and Pippa Fung.
Reach the reporter at csfishe4@asu.edu.
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