Some come and go, but these fans stick

LOUISIANA La. — There are University of Louisiana football fans who will be at Cajun Field every season, no matter how the Ragin’ Cajuns fare.

They likely number around 10,000 to 12,000.

But Cajun Field seats 31,000, and if the Cajuns are going to meet the mandated attendance average of 15,000 set by the NCAA for Division 1-A membership, it’s probably going to take a winning performance on the field and a more aggressive approach in promoting their product.

“When it’s your university, you view it differently,” said Ricky Calais, a 1975 UL graduate who started going to Cajun basketball games with his father as a toddler and became a football season ticket holder shortly after graduation.

“As long as you feel like they’re trying, especially when you know the disadvantages they’re working under, you’ll still come. As long as they’re giving an effort, I’m showing up.”

The Cajuns are back home after competitive losses at Louisiana Tech and Kansas State, and are looking forward to seeing at least as many fans for the Sun Belt Conference opener against Middle Tennessee as the 22,117 who attended the season opener against Northwestern State on Sept. 4.

“You’ve got diehard fans who will follow them to the ends of the earth, like I did,” Jill Myers said. “I remember players coming to us after a game and saying ‘We’re sorry we lost.’ I told them it’s OK, because one day you’re going to win and I’ll be there to see it.

“You’ve got to have people stick with you, win or lose. You’ve got to back the team for the whole four quarters.”

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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com