Arkansas State moved to 5-4 (3-2 SBC) with a 37-17 victory over Louisiana on Saturday and following the game head coach Butch Jones made comments regarding the lack of fan attendance at Centennial Bank Stadium.
He also thanked the fans that did show up.
“I’d like to thank the fans that did show up today with beautiful weather,” said Jones. “I’d like to thank them for coming.”
After thanking the fans that did show up, Jones issued a challenge to the student body at Arkansas State.
“I’m going to issue a challenge to the student body,” said Jones. “We’ve got a team that has won 5 out of (the last) 7. We represent Arkansas State. We need to start making Centennial Bank Stadium a home field advantage.”
You can hear all of what Jones had to say in the video below:
As I sat in the media room following the game listening to Jones speak these words I found myself agreeing with him. There should be more people in the stands. There should be more fan support. The official stat book showed that 15,881 fans attended the game, but it honestly looked like a lot less from the press box.
Look, I get it. This team hasn’t been very good in recent years. Blake Anderson’s last season had a losing record, and so far Butch Jones has yet to post a winning record as a head coach.
Add the fact that this team had an embarrassing outing against Oklahoma to open the season, then they were pushed around by Memphis in the home opener, and a lot of people lost hope early on based on the past three seasons.
I get it. I really do. In today’s economy it is hard to justify spending extra money to go watch a losing team, especially if money is already tight like it is for so many.
However, since the second half of game three there has been a major turnaround within this program.
Sure, things aren’t perfect. There is A LOT of work left to do. Even Butch Jones will tell you that. He knows that this team has a long way to go before they are a top of the Sun Belt Conference caliber team. No one will ever deny that.
However, the turnaround is evident.
This team just came off of a 37-17 victory over SBC rival Louisiana in a game they were picked to lose. If I were to be honest I would say the score wasn’t indicative of how bad Arkansas State whipped Louisiana all over the field. 7 of those points came off of a shot play in busted coverage, for instance.
Now, all of a sudden, this team is one win away from bowl eligibility. Let’s be honest. How many people really thought bowl eligibility was a possibility for this team after the first two weeks?
I did. I saw the work they were putting in. I posted it about it numerous times on the RedWolfReport Facebook Group. I even had people telling me I was crazy for thinking it was a possibility. Yet, here we are. One win away with three games left to play.
One of those three games is at Centennial Bank Stadium on Nov. 18 at 2 p.m. when bowl eligible Texas State rolls into town. That is a game where fan support is going to be needed. If this team is going to be bowl eligible there will most likely be representatives from various bowl games in attendance. They will want to see fan support.
Frankly, this team has put in the work and has earned the right to have fan support at home. I truly hope Red Wolf fans will honor that work and show up for the last game of the year to show their support for their football team.
To those that have been inside of Centennial Bank Stadium as much as they possibly could have been this year, I know this team and coaching staff appreciates you. I’ll also throw a special tip of the hat to those that have made the road trips with this team.
Here’s to as many fans as possible making their way to Centennial Bank Stadium on Nov. 18 for the final home game of the year.
This team has earned that support.
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