Courtesy Photo

One passionate UMass Lowell student pounded his chest in excitement during a hockey game in the 2013-14 season and landed himself on ESPN’s NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament Selection Show at the end of the year. He showed the right combination of energy, personality and creativity and made it on the Tsongas Center video board—in his case, a stepping stone to a national stage.

For the Tsongas Center audio/visual team, they say they are looking for people who display those qualities at a high level to put on the video board above the ice and pump up the rest of the crowd.

The Tsongas Center would not be as lively as it is without students attending games, which Athletic Department Assistant Director for Marketing and Promotions Kristen Calvetti said is the main mission of the athletic marketing department.

Calvetti said the video board “definitely adds to the overall fan experience,” something that keeps students coming back for each game. “It gets the fans fired up, which, in return, only helps us,” she said.

Creating the next big “look at me” moment is likely to land a fan a spot on the video board. Tsongas Center Director of Audio Visual Services Ben Jewart said some of last year’s “best stuff” included students who brought a fake penguin to games for the kiss cam, a male student who held a sign that read “friend zoned” and a girl who held up a Simba toy a few games after the Simba Cam — a recreation of the scene in the movie “Lion King” when Rafiki lifts Simba into the air — premiered at home games.

Props are useful but not always necessary to make it on screen. Jewart recalls when a fraternity member in the student section emphatically pounded his chest for the camera, footage that made it to the world’s largest sports network for a special college hockey broadcast.

“I saw the kid the year after, and I told him he was on ESPN, and he didn’t even realize it,” said Jewart of the aforementioned student. “I pulled the opening clip, and there he was; he was just pounding his chest with his UMass Lowell sweater going nuts.”

Be yourself

Fans who go to games and simply be themselves can find appearing on the video board a little easier than most this year, and Fahmina Zaman embodies self-confidence inside and out of the Tsongas Center.

A second year graduate student majoring in peace and conflict resolution, Zaman said she started appearing on the video board during her sophomore year in 2011-12. During that year, she wore a Superwoman costume to games but credits her outgoing personality as an additional attribute to her exposure in the arena.

The hockey team also rebounded from a five-win season in 2010-11, and the aura of the student section followed shortly thereafter, she said.

“A lot more people started going to the games because they noticed that we were winning more,” she said, “and so the more people that went to the games, the more lively it was…”

As a fellow fan, Zaman identified with and admired other fans who were often on display above the ice during games being themselves. Her favorite fans to look up at are older couples on the kiss cam, fans that dress up and a student that regularly brought a large makeshift “easy” button and put it on the glass, she said.

Set to graduate at the end of the fall semester, Zaman said she will miss the energy of the student section but will purchase season tickets to continue attending games.

Get into the game

To students who want to appear on the video board during hockey games this season, Jewart simply said students should go to games to have fun. While there are passionate fans at each game, Jewart said he notices students who are not into the action, which does not provide an atmosphere conducive to a positive fan experience.

“It’s a lot easier to choose from 20 different people having fun or 1,000 different people having fun than 6 to 10 people on their cell phones,” he said.

Jewart said, on the other hand, that Zaman is one of many fans whose regular appearances are not a matter of coincidence but a result of their energy in the arena.

“You’ll see that she’s on the board a lot,” he said. “Why? Because she’s not sitting there on her phone or she’s not sitting there [pretending to have] fun.”