Some of the University of Maine women’s basketball team’s biggest supporters are tough to miss in the stands in Orono. That’s because they’re pretty big themselves.
The UMaine football team, led by some particularly enthusiastic members of the offensive line, have made it a habit to file into the student section during women’s and men’s basketball games to support their fellow athletes on campus.
“Black Bears take care of Black Bears,” said senior offensive lineman Max Gregor.
Gregor won the football team’s spirit and dedication award this season, and when you see the energy he brings to supporting the basketball players, it’s not hard to understand why.
“They love our support, and we love them,” Gregor added at halftime during the women’s semifinal matchup against Binghamton. “We love it, and we’ll be here as long as we can.”
The women went on to punch their ticket to the conference championship, to the delight of the football players, other UMaine athletes and all of the Black Bears fans in the stands.
“We try to support all the teams when we can, they try to support us,” graduate student offensive lineman Ian Erickson said.
And Erickson credited Binghamton for the way their supporters traveled to Orono on Monday night.
“It’s great vibes down there. Everyone’s getting loud,” Erickson added. “They’ve got their band, their student section here. They’re getting loud on their side too.It’s great both ways, but we’re trying to outcompete them and be louder.”
The players estimated that about 60 members of their team were on hand Monday for the playoff matchup, and they were having a blast supporting their fellow Black Bears.
UMaine athletic director Jude Killy emphasized that a bunch of different UMaine teams, not just the large group from the football team, come out to support their fellow Black Bears, citing the soccer and track teams as other examples.
“It’s everything,” Killy said. “It just shows the connective tissue and the DNA of this place, when everyone’s supporting everyone else.”
