Don't get me wrong. Please don't get me wrong or misconstrue what I'm trying to reason out here.

Who are all these Loyola fans?

They look like Loyola fans, they act like Loyola fans. But I've never seen them before. I love that we're getting love, but where have these people been for the past many years when we've struggled and wondered if we were even going to be able to keep D1 athletics?

Please, people who haven't been engaged before the past few weeks..... please keep coming to games, buying merchandise, and rooting your heads off. Show up, make signs, and yell. Please keep doing this, and you will be rewarded by better play from better teams and a better program. We need your support through the pretty good seasons, and the "meh" seasons and the the hard luck seasons-- not just the best season in half a century.

Resolve to go to at least two games a year--- not just the big ones against the best competition, but the ones that best fit your schedule. We need you to do this so those of us who go to every game don't have to be embarrassed defending our team and ourselves to the rest of the conference fans. We need you to show up so the administration knows that athletics are an important part of the community of our alma mater. We need you to show up so the Department of Athletics has some revenue to make good decisions, not struggle along and have to figure out which necessity to cut. We need you to donate $200 or so when you go a season without showing up, so we have the revenue to see us through to better days.

Everybody can see now what a joy it is to share your fandom with others, to root for the Ramblers, and be so proud your heart is overflowing. Let's make sure we keep up the habit and responsibility of team support. If you're out of the Chicago area and a women's softball game comes to your part of the country, go, and scream your head off for the Ramblers. We've got a pretty good men's volleyball program, and a bunch of hard-working student athletes in other sports, too. We shouldn't have to wait 50 years or 33 years or whenever to all get together in celebration and support of Loyola, our student athletes, and each other.

And oh yes... Join Ramblermania! Sign up, pick a name, introduce yourself, and share your opinions. It's a friendly place where you can be involved and engaged.

Also even when the teams are not very good the kids that play are still fantastic to root for and great representative's of the school! Christian Thomas comes to mind as an example!

Some place within all the publicity we have been receiving, I noticed a bit about some LUC students who actually wanted our school to have no part of Athletics --or some such thing Really ?? How shallow and incomplete these CHILDREN are. I write this with admitedly little real knowledge of facts !! My question now is---DID this really happen ?? I truly cannot believe this !! Thank Heavens for JCT's post !! IT tells the REALLY important story !!

In any case again--did these "students" actually protest or something ?? Advise Thanks !!

So some students were upset that we are putting so much money into athletics. They were under the impression that a new athletic building would increase our tuition. Their impression was wrong. Although I completely disagree with the nature of the protests, I think it’s their right to do it. And it’s a great conversation starter.

JCT - all good points. I put myself a in that "who are these people" category lol. I was extremely involed in Loyola athletics for about 12 years until the early 2000s (student, athlete, GA, FT employee). However, since then (with the exception of following basketball and soccer virtually, reading this board regularly, and some donations), I haven't been super involved.

I guess for people like you (and the other regulars on the board) this must feel a bit like when Pearl Jam released its first big album (Ten) and all of the sudden long-time fans who were used to seeing the band with a few hundred others were joined by thousands of new fans. The bandwagon is boarding.

But I think your sentiment is right - it's where we go from here. The people on this board (and certainly others) kept this thing alive for 15-20 years, but it's on all of us - including those coming out of the woodwork - to support Loyola going forward. I think we all want this to be the jumping off point for MBB (and the other programs) - not the destination.

Thanks JB !! It does appear that these are today's CHILDREN !! Me Me Me !!! Trouble of course was they might have just read up on and studied prior to embarrassing themselves !!
I have no problem respecting INFORMED protests AND differences --BUT no way do I want or need IGNORANCE---My DAD always said there is little worse than an educated FOOL !!

Thanks again and for me--end of story

Great Washington Post story: Take a tour of Loyola Chicago, which wasn’t a sports school until last week
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/take-a-tour-of-loyola-chicago-which-wasnt-a-sports-school-until-last-week/2018/03/21/65026f12-2d37-11e8-8688-e053ba58f1e4_story.html?utm_term=.14ec6e94ccb9

I've gone to almost every single home game this season and went to St. Louis for Arch Madness. I've met so many new Rambler fans and seen so many new faces. I always find a way to tell these folks about Ramblermania...and interestingly enough, many of them have actually heard of the site. There are a lot of "lurkers" out there who visit frequently but have not taken the time to sign up. I hope they see this and find that extra motivation to sign up!

Your eyes have just beheld the infamous "bandwagon"!

When WSU started getting better in the mid-2000s, it showed up on our campus. We also wondered where everyone had been. The great thing is if you have one, it means you're doing something right.

They key is, as the bandwagon rolls through, a good number decide to jump off to the side of loyal supporters and not the other side, or just ride it out of town toward the next big thing.

Congrats on the run! Enjoy the ride!