South Dakota State put a beatdown on Incarnate Word during the quarterfinal round of the FCS college football playoffs on Saturday. However, the Jackrabbits’ fanbase failed to show up and support their team because of the freezing cold.
Temperatures hovered around 27 degrees at kickoff, which led to an embarrassingly small crowd at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
Before we go any further, lets make something very clear. The desire to watch college football on T.V. at home instead of trekking outdoors is totally fair. Especially when kickoff is scheduled for before noon.
If this was a random regular season game against a bad opponent, there would be no reason to have this conversation. But that is not what we are talking about here. It was the quarterfinal round of the playoffs!
And yet, the stands on both sides of the stadium (which can hold more than 19,000) were mostly empty at kickoff.
Underway in Brookings 🏈 pic.twitter.com/KkP45d9imA
— Sam Herder (@SamHerderFCS) December 14, 2024
The “feels like” temperature in Brookings was approximately 20º as the game got underway and clouds blocked the sun from warming things up. It was cold. Freezing, in fact!
That is not an excuse not to show up for a playoff game. Especially considering that the Jackrabbits often criticizes indoor stadiums as soft. Who is soft now?!
The people of South Dakota are accustomed to the weather. They have plenty of jackets, beanies, gloves and ski masks. Bundle up, get to the stadium and support your team. No excuses. The players deserve better.
South Dakota State got up 31-0 at halftime. A mass exodus to the couch for the second half would make sense. Cold is cold is cold. To not even show up at all is pathetic. Any further claims by South Dakota State about the superiority of its college football fanbase are officially ruled invalid from this point forward.
You can’t claim to be the best and then stay home for the playoffs…