Cheering with Thundering Herd by Yong Li

“Go Herd!” “We are Marshall!” are the most famous slogans and mostly heard before, in the process of and after the football game here at Marshall as well as in Huntington. Once after the game was over, together with my classmate, I went out of the stadium. On the way back, I was too excited about the game to control myself and yelled loudly “we are…”. To my surprise, “Marshall!” from all directions to respond to me, was the only sound I heard except the whooshing noise of passing cars. The Herd culture has been an indispensable part of life both at Marshall University and in Huntington, and it is going to be brought to China.

Not long after we arrived at Marshall University, we strongly felt that we were part of Marshall. Later we recognized that it is not the fact that we have training courses here, but the Thundering Herd gave us the sense of community. As a big delegation of 16 people from SINOPEC, we chose to stay in the University Court Yard, which allowed us to stay close to Cabell Hall, the place where we have all of our training courses. The program was specially organized for us, and lasted only one semester. We spent most of the time together. Seldom were we involved with the daily life of the university, though we go to the library from time to time. The football game changed our school life. As we sat in the stadium, we were happy when they played well, we were sad when they played bad. Our hearts beat fast when the scores were getting close. When cheering with the audiences by yelling rhythmically “We are, Marshall!” we felt that we are nothing but part of them.

The Saturday on which there is a game is a festival of the students inside the campus and the people of the whole city. And the “Home-coming” Saturday marked the second biggest event after the championship day. The parking lots blocked around the stadium are the places for tailgate parties. About 10 a.m., all the family members, along with friends set up flexible table and chairs, light up B-B-Q fire, and drink and eat; recalling the good memory of the last game, expecting a better game in the afternoon. The tailgate party is also a good chance for people to be social. People whether knowing each other or not, greet and talk. Once I was told that you could join the party even though you do not know them at all. Fortunately, we attended a tailgate party on a beautiful day and all of us enjoyed it a lot.

It seems that when the game was over, it was the time for students to celebrate and have parties. Every so often, we heard the thundering music with strong rhythm coming from the car trunk, passing quickly along the street. I knew that they were gathering to somewhere for a party, which surely would last until early morning the next day. It is a good opportunity for students to relax after a whole week’s study. However, not every party ended up with happiness after drinking so much beer for the whole night. I was awakened one night at 4 o’clock, due to the police and ambulance siren just down the street and later I learned that a fight was going on and someone even got hurt. That is the only sad experience of my stay.

The popularity of the Herd made us curious about the regulations and rules of American college football and the history of the “Thundering Herd”. We found that it is easy to find a topic with American roommates as well as people around you, because the Herd has been one of the common interests of people with different ages, different jobs and different genders. With the purpose of learning language as well as culture, not to mention trying to make friends, we had a wonderful time not only by enjoying the game watching, but also by talking and sharing the experiences about the game. At the party held at the President’s house, we spent a good part of the time talking and laughing with cheerleaders of the “Herd”. You can be sure that the topics were mainly about the Herd’s performance. I have to confess that it is they who connect the audience and the players; it is they who make the game more enjoyable; it is they who sometime ignite the crowd greatly when the situation on the ground is not favorable. I told them that they are part of the game, and part of the reason I go and watch the game instead of watching TV. We all had a good time.

Apart from the training programs, lectures and plant visits, the most important and interesting experience I have had for the whole semester’s stay is cheering with the Thundering Herd, the whole herd of athletic teams, though I have only talked about football. Judging by my own feeling out of such a short period of time, it is not difficult to understand why it is so important for Marshall and Huntington to build up “Herd” culture. The buffalo as the official mascot and green and white as the official school colors symbolize the values of traditional, honest, diligent people, yet teamwork, energetic, and aggressive at doing business. I am part of Marshall. The experience of the Thundering Herd will be one of the important parts of my life.