An open letter to UB Football: Your support from fellow student athletes is dwindling

Dear UB Football,

This will now be my third year attending the University at Buffalo. Throughout these three years I have thoroughly enjoyed watching your program. Unlike others this weekend, I only have one grievance and it’s that Buffalo Football does not bring the same support that other UB athletic programs do to other sports.

This past Friday I saw something wonderful. Several student athletes from other sports came to watch your game. Both basketball programs, track/cross country, and soccer all had representatives at the game, to name a few.

One could argue that these athletes attended because they were honored at the game for their accomplishments in the past year, but if that was the case, they would’ve left at half time like so many of you do at basketball games. These students stayed for the duration and as a supporter of UB Athletics I couldn’t be happier for that.

As happy as this makes me, it also makes me frustrated considering you have yet to support the other programs on the same level. I rarely see you at any other sporting events, and if you are there, it’s never for the whole game. This displeasure has also been vocalized to me by others in True Blue and several student athletes that attended your event.

I will make a challenge right here:

If Buffalo Bulls Football sends 10 players to half of the home contests for a sport that isn’t their own, I will order a 145-gram tube of Vegemite from the back-of-Bourke and eat it live on an edition of our video podcast "Bulls and Beers". For the record, eating spoonfuls of Vegemite is one of the most disgusting things you could do (let alone a jar) since the product is more meant as a light spread on toast.

I feel that this support is important to a healthy athletics department that for every two sports for which you accomplish this task, I will eat another tube of Vegemite (Lord save me) AND make a donation to UB Football. I go to practically every event. If I don’t make it, benefit of the doubt and we’ll say that you did.

My purpose for this challenge is for you to show pride in your fellow student athletes and enhance the atmosphere at all Athletics events. This is also a wonderful chance to meet and connect with NARP’s (Non-Athletic Regular People). Your support in this year’s Men’s Soccer exhibitions was critical in their success and having a rowdy crowd at all games would make such a huge difference.

As the football team for New York’s Public Powerhouse, you should have plenty of UB pride and complete this challenge without any problem.

Sincerely,

Robby Johnson

Geology/Communications major