Not much to cheer about in Northwestern student section

A student section is an extremely fickle thing. Students aged 18 to 22 deciding to spend their Saturdays watching their peers compete at the highest level of collegiate football is one of the most unique and special things that college football has to offer.

These students lose their patience quickly, however. Three hours, possibly more, is a long time for a college student. A plethora of other equally fun opportunities present themselves, and if the right storm brews, a once rowdy and excited student section can turn into a depressed cohort of only the most loyal fans in a matter of seconds.

This exact phenomena plagued Ryan Field during Northwestern's 42-7 loss to Wisconsin on Saturday.

A beautiful, sunny day in Evanston had students swarming Ryan Field’s Gate G before kickoff, clamoring to get a decent spot in Section 111. A long line formed, full of shoving and discomfort, but eventually, the rush died down, and the student section was full.

Don’t let looks deceive you, however. Despite the impressive turnout (at least by Northwestern standards), the energy in the student section was quite low. Many of the students seemed disinterested in the game, and the cheers were mediocre at best, even early, when the game hadn't yet gotten out of hand.

Take, for example, the chants when the opposing team has a third down. Typically, the students are supposed to put their Wildcat paws high in the air and growl at the top of their lungs in an attempt to throw off the opponent.

This week, that roar was much more of a meow. It seemed as if students were more interested in getting off a good Instagram post or capturing the perfect BeReal than following what was happening on the field. Occasional signs of life occurred, including when the NU Softball team was honored in the second quarter, but, for the most part, students were more focused on their own conversations.

As the game slipped out of Northwestern’s grasp, disguised Wisconsin students began revealing themselves, discarding their purple outerwear in favor of bright red shirts emblazoned with a cartoon badger.

This happened at about the same time that Wisconsin scored to go up 28-0 with 2:11 seconds in the half, triggering a massive student section exodus. One Wisconsin student used this moment to take a dig at Northwestern, claiming that the lines to get into Madison bars were longer than those to get into the student section.

At this point, the student section was about 50-60% of what it was at its peak. A somewhat promising Northwestern drive at the end of the first half gave the remaining fans something to cheer for, but even that would not last long.

Boos rang through Section 111 as head coach Pat Fitzgerald decided to go for a field goal, rather than a touchdown, on the last play of the half, with his team trailing by four touchdowns. Jack Olsen's subsequent miss from extra-point distance was the final straw for many. Gate G was about as crowded as it was at the start of the game, but fans weren't pushing to get in, but to get out of Ryan Field as quickly possible.

By the time the band finished their halftime performance, only a quarter of the student section remained. These dedicated few attempted to breathe some life into the crowd, even busting out a “we want Bama!” chant. But a Brendan Sullivan fumble with 7:18 left in the game broke their spirit, leading to another round of exits.

One fan tried to rally the troops, declaring that “The comeback starts now!” but it was met with silence and maybe a few chuckles from Wisconsin fans.

When the fourth quarter came around, only about 125 fans remained in the student section. Many of them were adults, or Wisconsin fans, or both. I even saw a few babies. It was at this point that I strongly considered leaving, but for the sake of journalistic integrity, I stuck with it, free to roam the empty section as I pleased.

The remaining Northwestern fans were impressively loud, however. Cheers erupted when Anthony Tyus III scored Northwestern's only touchdown with 11:08 left in the game, but they paled in comparison to the Wisconsin cheers when Graham Mertz threw his fifth touchdown pass of the day with 2:28 to go.

One Northwestern fan noticed this, lamenting the fact that “a Wisconsin student [was] in the second row of the student section.” As the ever-enthusiastic band performed a “we love our team!” chant, I heard a soft “I disagree” from one of the remaining Northwestern faithful.

With about two minutes left, fans were begging for a running clock and discussing how they would feel if Fitzgerald used one of his three timeouts in the garbage-iest of garbage times.

I’m not entirely sure if the fans who stayed until the end of the game were first-years who are still young and full of hope, or seniors who are dull to the pain and soaking in their last moments at Ryan Field. Regardless of class, they deserve loads of respect for sticking it out to watch a tough 35-point loss that was decided before halftime.

Overall, students respond to one thing, and one thing only: wins. If the team is not winning, students will not stick around, and eventually, they’ll stop showing up all together. The Wildcats are now 0-4 in their football home on Central Street. Next up is No. 2 Ohio State on Nov. 5, and then surprising, No. 24 Illinois for the season finale.

There's a strong probability that NU students will not see a single home win this season. That's enough to discourage the most loyal of fans.