Evan Nicoll (‘12) is a Senior Development Officer in the A.B. Freeman School of Business Office of Development, Former USG President and proud student-athlete

Alright, Tulanians. This is it. This is the time to show up for our team. 

Football games aren’t just about coming out to tailgate. It’s more than showing up in the second quarter and leaving right after halftime, and it definitely requires being louder than the Family Fun Zone. 

The team needed us last game in a back-and-forth, come-from-behind win against the University of Houston, and we failed them on national television. That was one of the most exciting games in Tulane history. The Washington Post called it “the college football ending of the year.”

Tulane’s fake kneel-down and last-second win is the college football ending of the year https://t.co/rYCZeNhMw6

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 20, 2019

And yet, the turnout for the game was lackluster at best.

Allow me to put on my grandpa hat for a second. Before Yulman Stadium, we had games at the Superdome that entailed riding a school bus downtown, tailgating on top of the hot parking garages, paying at least $10 for beers and failing to make an attendance difference in a 70,000+ capacity venue — it was brutal. 

We have a unique opportunity, having a world-class sports venue literally in our backyard with Yulman Stadium. Let’s take advantage of it and show some ownership.

There is something special about this team. They are resilient. They play with passion. They give everything they have on the field. 

We need to match what they’re giving us out there and show the country the immense pride that comes with being the Princeton Review’s No. 2 in “Their Students Love These Colleges.” 

Harness that Tulane Pride into an absolute wave of force. We should be able to make Yulman into one of the loudest and toughest venues to play in the conference. But we can’t do it alone, and we can’t do it half-heartedly for part of the game.

COMEBACK COMPLETE!!!

That's an Olive & BLUE W!#RollWave pic.twitter.com/zv9P7kfvfO

— Tulane Football (@GreenWaveFB) September 20, 2019

We need each and every voice at full tilt when the Wave is on defense, especially on third downs. We need celebratory “Roll Wave Roll’s” when we gain another first down on offense. 

And we need to go absolutely bananas for touchdowns, turnovers and field goals — yes, field goals. There was a time when we could barely make extra points, much less overcome a 21-point deficit to win in extraordinary fashion. Tulane is on the verge of cracking the top 25 teams in the country if we can continue to play at this level. 

Can you imagine that for a second? Let’s help our boys in the olive and blue get there together.

Tulane plays its next home game against the University of Connecticut Huskies on Oct. 12. I hope to see you there. Don’t worry, The Boot will still be there after we’ve won.