(Photo courtesy of Ohio State University) “University marching bands contribute quite a lot to the atmosphere of college sports games.”

Jake Messer
Connector Editor

American Sports can generally be broken into two different categories. On one side, there is professional sports, where athletes compete for awards and money. They can have a career as a professional athlete given all the money that is tied up into this level of sports. The fans are passionate and will pay top dollar to see their team play. 

Then there’s the other side of the spectrum, college sports, where these athletes are working hard to try and realize their dreams of becoming professional athletes. However, due to the disparity in parody in college sports, many matchups are rather dull and boring, hence the smaller audience. 

With that being said, when the stakes are right, nothing beats the thrill of watching college sports. The fans, both students and alumni alike, come together and create some of the best atmospheres in the entire sporting world. Just like some athletes, some of these atmospheres are worth paying top dollar to experience first-hand.  

When people in the Northeast think of the college atmosphere, they think of Penn State’s famous annual “Whiteout” game. At least once a year, over 100,000 fans pack into Beaver Stadium dressed in white.  

With the seats covered in white and the opposing offense taking the field, a trendy, amp-up song will play to get the fans screaming. Famously, in 2022, the fans were so loud after the playing of “Mo Bamba “by Sheck Wes, that the Michigan offense was forced to take a timeout on the very first play of the game. 

 Heading down South, the one that stands out is Celmson’s atmosphere. Many entrances are unique, but this one takes the cake as the best in the sport. 

The players, in full uniform, are taken from the locker rooms to the stadium by bus and police escort. Once at the stadium, they stand above a hill, in front of the entire stadium, making the fans go crazy as “We Will Rock You” by Queen plays throughout the entire stadium. At max anticipation, the players run down and onto the field, getting everyone into it before the game even kicks off.  

 Heading to the Midwest, the standout can be found in Wisconsin. Before every home game, the song “Jump Around” by House of Pain bellows throughout the stadium. What follows is over a minute of the fans jumping around and screaming as the team makes their way onto the field.  

It was not only a spectacle of fandom but an impressive feat of engineering and architectural sculpture for the builders of Camp Randall Stadium as the stadium has endured countless jump around sessions for 80,000 fans.  

Finally, heading down to the Lone Star State, the “Aggies” of Texas A&M make their case for being the best. Their entrance is truly something to behold.  

The players walk out to an incredible wall of noise that encompasses anyone who walks into it. The band begins to play the school’s fight song, “The Aggie War Hymn,” which dates to 1918, gives the stadium this electric feeling that is so hard to create, let alone maintain for every home game, every season.  

College sports are great, but what pushes them into a must-watch event is the fans, bands, and musicians, as they create and maintain some of the best, most memorable atmospheres in all sports. Not just in college but in all sports, all over the globe.