I’m going to start by saying something that is blatantly obvious: without fans, sports would cease to exist. For one, it’s not fun to practice or play for no public recognition. Although sports contain a large internal battle within each athlete, the external factors play just as big of a role. If no one is watching, what is the relevance? You can ask the 2015 Baltimore Orioles that question. When there was social unrest in Baltimore earlier this year, a 10 P.M. – 5 A.M. curfew was set in place throughout the entire city to help control riots. This resulted in a game being played at Camden Yards between the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox with no fans in attendance. You can imagine that the video is pretty bizarre.
This absence of crowd noise and 40,000 bodies was striking to say the least. Fans have been such a vital part of the sports world for so long, that when they were removed from a single game, people didn’t really know how to react. In response to this, we will be tipping our hats to the people that make these games so great. The tailgaters who show up before dawn to reserve a spot in the parking lot. The college students who get their semester tuition’s worth from one Saturday football afternoon. The family who watches their team from the couch every Sunday, as well as all the other categories these people might fall under. For today, we will be talking about the more extreme examples of this community. This post is in dedication to the young and the old; the humble and the belligerent; the fair weather and the dedicated. This post is dedicated to the fans.
m-i-z
It really is phenomenal to see what lengths people go to in attempts to get in the other team’s head. If we used the same amount of brainpower in class as when constructing a clever sign to hold during a game, the educational advancements made as a result would be unprecedented. I’m at your service today to provide you with some tales that may make you cringe. They may make you laugh. Either way, they’re those kind of stories that are connected to college that you can’t help but remember. Let me give you a little more background before we get to the good stuff.
All of my mother’s immediate family lives in Missouri. My father was an undergraduate in broadcast journalism and earned a Master’s degree in Advertising from Mizzou. My cousin is currently enrolled there. What I’m trying to get at is that my family has substantial history in the state and the school. For this reason, I’ve been to Missouri numerous times throughout my life and heard all kinds of stories from my folks. My dad is always game for comparing stories about the Mizzou he knew and the Mizzou that my cousin is currently attending. One of his favorite aspects of the University of Missouri in the late 70’s/early 80’s was a group of individuals that served as a student section labeled “The Antlers”. Although these guys weren’t the largest student section in the nation, they might go down as the most notorious of all time.
the antlers
The Antlers were founded in 1976 by Jeff Gordon (no, not the racecar driver) after a section of 11 courtside seats opened up for all students at the Hearnes Center. This was where Mizzou’s basketball games at the time were held. A lottery was held and students “won” the seats. To celebrate their winnings, Gordon and four other students decided to go all out with their cheering. More on that in a second.
Why are they called the Antlers? The name has no affiliation to the University of Missouri at all. In fact, the name is based off of a Saturday Night Live skit where Lily Tomlin dances with her hands at the side of her head, fingers outstretched as if she had Antlers. I couldn’t seem to find the video for this skit anywhere, otherwise I would have provided it for you. Anyways, Gordon saw this skit and implemented it into the first game the Antlers attended as an official group. When a member of the press saw the section performing this dance, he dubbed them “The Antlers”. The name is now legend.
The antics
Since 1976, the goal of the group has been to be as untraditional and obnoxious as possible. Before most home games, they undergo intense research in order to dig up dirt on the opponent’s coaches and players. Anything is up for grabs in this realm of relentless support.
However, the Antlers are most notorious for the folklore that has been spread about their actions off the field. Any organization that is significant enough to be relevant to a number of people has an event they can be remembered by. The Antlers’ history contains many of these events. Some of the instances I am about to mention are a combination of stories that my father has told me and information that has been passed down online. Whether every detail is true can be left up to speculation. Just keep in mind, however, that the preposterous actions described in these stories weren’t just thought up; something similar or equally as ridiculous had to happen in order for these actions to become immortal. Let’s begin.
Porkchops
Mizzou and Arkansas have played each other in basketball 45 times since 1950. The results have been pretty even-keeled; Mizzou has leads the series 23-22. If you didn’t already know, the mascot for Arkansas is a razorback. There are several written reports of Antlers members at one point swinging a severed pig’s head from a chain in front of the Arkansas bus as their players stepped off before a game. Imagine that welcoming. It was also recorded that the Antlers once dumped a vat of pig’s blood on Arkansas basketball coach Nolan Richardson. As you can tell, this is not your average run of the mill type trash talking. This is a level above.
(image by Columbia Daily Tribune)
Another story that my dad told me also involves a dead pig. One year, the Antlers figured out which hotel the Arkansas basketball team was staying at overnight. They did the courteous thing and sent their regards via a set of pizzas to the Arkansas’ players rooms. The catch was that the toppings on the pizzas were bloody chunks of pig that had been sprinkled on from the local slaughterhouse. Delicious? No. Unnerving? Undeniably.
chickenhawks
The rivalry between Mizzou and Kansas is not a pretty one. These two schools have no love lost toward each other. Think of Texas and Oklahoma; Michigan and Ohio State; this is the level of circumstance that we are talking about. I grew up a Longhorn, but I’m on the Mizzou side of this MU-KU rivalry. The official mascot of The University of Kansas is the “Jayhawk”, but my dad called them the “Chickenhawks” one time when I was younger, and the name stuck.
As legend is told, sometime in the 80’s, the Kansas basketball bus was departing from their campus in Lawrence. They were headed toward the Hearnes Center to play Mizzou in a Big 12 Conference match up. Around 15 minutes into their ride on the highway, they were boxed in by a caravan of Antlers vehicles. They could not switch lanes; they could not exit when they needed to. This continued until about an hour after they missed the exit for the Mizzou campus. As a result, the Jayhawks missed all of warm ups and showed up close to when the game was about to start. The outcome of the game was lost in history; the caravan of Antlers was not.
what’s your take?
In 2013, The Antlers were kicked out of a Mizzou home game for their uncensored cheering. This would be the second straight game in which they would be asked to leave. This came as no surprise. The Antlers have pushed the envelope both on and off the court since their humble beginnings in 1976. The players of the Mizzou teams have always backed them up. The university as a whole has enjoyed their presence, but has seemed to tighten down on them as of late.
We certainly are not talking about a 12th Man style cheering section here. However, the sentiment is just the same: get in the other team’s heads to benefit your own team. For me, I find the Antlers entertaining to say the least. It is these stories that involve everyday people off the court that help bridge the fans to the athletes. Whether you love or hate the Antlers, you cannot deny them. I encourage you to read some of the links that I will provide below.
links
2015 Antlers article in VOX Magazine: http://www.voxmagazine.com/2015/02/antler-antics/
Antlers 2013 ejection: http://www.themaneater.com/stories/2013/12/4/antlers-deserve-chance-improve-conduct/
Mental Floss’ 10 Famous Basketball Student Sections: http://mentalfloss.com/article/27086/quick-10-10-famous-student-sections-college-basketball
The Case For Sports 