Phoenix Fans Unite!
I have been to the top of the mountain, and it was good. I have seen what true professional women's football looks like. As the unofficial team blogger I feel it is my job, neigh, my duty to take Phoenix fandom to the next level!!
When we are away, we need to be together. There is a visitor's side, and yes, it is there for us, but hear me out on this one. Most fields are orientated such that the sun sets behind the home side. So throughout the whole game, the visitors are staring into the sun and as you can see above hiding behind umbrellas in the Hotlanta sun. I counted over 20 Phoenix fans in Atlanta and never more than five in any one place. My suggestion is to follow the lead of Brandon who's running the Phoenix camera- base yourself in the shade of the announcer's box. It is shaded, it is the best seat in the house, and if we're sitting there the home team fans can't.
As a bonus, by being together, we appear a larger crowd than might actually be. We yell and cheer for our own team and those home team fans to the left us think that the visitors are filling all of the stands to their right. Those home team fans on the right think that everyone to the left of them are cheering for the visitors. Divide and conquer!
Two: We need more cowbell. We need more signs, banners, bunting, t-shirts, hats, horns, bells, blocks, bullhorns and whatever else you can think of. Lets make some noise! Even if for whatever reason you can't ring the bell or do the wave, if you're wearing a team shirt, you're helping out. This goes for home as well of course. Away we just need to turn it up to eleven.
One thing that we can and do in Durham that Atlanta couldn't do was have a tailgate party. I suppose you could have done it in Atlanta, but I feel weird about setting up my grill on pavement, and having beer at a high school is just wrong. Our home tailgate parties are good, but they could be better. We need to work together more, to have one big party in the middle rather than four or five parties around the edges. When that visiting team's bus pulls in, I want every one of them to think to themselves, "Holy cow! Look at the tailgaters! The Phoenix are serious! Its a psychological game, but first it is where we get to have fun, eat and mingle before kickoff. I tend to park where I do first row in the middle so I can give away some drinks to the visiting team when they get back in their bus. I want their last view of us to be that we are really amazingly cool people.
I realize that teams like Atlanta who have been to three championships and are wearing those spiffy championship rings have had a lot of time in past years to organize and work stuff out. I feel it is time to get started so when we get there we as fans will be ready to give the team the support they deserve.
