Rough times for Ruff Riders

By Aaron Juarez

Last Saturday, as the Santa Clara volleyball team hosted the Toreros of San Diego, 723 fans filed into the Leavey Center to catch this important West Coast Conference battle.

Of that number, approximately 75 were seated in the special section reserved for members of the Ruff Riders, the official student fan club of Santa Clara.

For a club that boasts 1,500 members, this small ratio means that only one out of every 20 Ruff Riders attended Saturday night's match between two nationally-ranked schools. That is five percent of the club's population.

"This week we weren't able to get a lot [done] towards promotions," said Chris Bucka, co-president of Ruff Riders. "We're just now getting under way, being two weeks into school. This game we weren't able to push as hard."

Since its creation in 1999, one of the club's main goals was to "increase student spirit on campus and at all Bronco athletic events," according to the group's Web site.

Filling the 5,000-seat Leavey Center is not possible for the Ruff Riders to do alone, but the club doesn't even come close to filling its own section.

While one could argue that the club is not doing an adequate job of promoting both itself and upcoming athletic events, the general student apathy towards Santa Clara athletics is also a looming issue.

"I know the biggest problem we have on campus is that people just don't go to the games," said Bucka. "Making students aware that the game is there is probably the biggest step in getting them to come."

Leaders of the Ruff Riders also understand that the neighborhood party scene and alternative means of entertainment in the area provide an obstacle to getting larger student turnout at matches.

"Come on, it's college, parties don't even start until later anyhow," said Ross Nelson, a member of the Executive Council. "Go to the games, they start at seven o'clock, then have your fun afterwards. Or, have your fun before and then go to the games, it's always a good time."

The Ruff Riders who are at the games do indeed have a good time.

As one of the mainstays of the Ruff Rider section, Nelson mans his courtside seat with fervor, one side of his face painted Santa Clara red and the other white.

Meanwhile, to Nelson's right, Mike Zozos proudly sports his referee's shirt and rainbow-colored wig, keeping the section buzzing with each volley.

"We're trying to sell that you can go to the games, and then go to the parties as well," said Zozos, another member of the Ruff Riders' Executive Council. "You can do a combination of both, and it's not like we're sporting weak teams, if people come out they can see how great and fun it is and they'll keep coming back, hopefully."

Yet to keep students coming back, the Ruff Riders must first get them to come to the matches, whether it be soccer, volleyball, water polo or cross country in the fall quarter.

The club has a table in Benson on Thursdays and Fridays, posts flyers in residence halls and relies heavily on word-of-mouth to get people to games.

"A lot of times I'll be going through my residence hall [Sanfilippo] and knocking door-to-door, making sure people know what's up on the weekend," said Zozos. "We're just trying to be more visible and cater to students a little more."

Attempts to cater to the students, though, have been hindered by a tight budget this year. The Ruff Riders, like all clubs at Santa Clara this year, have seen their Associated Student funds decreased to $50 for the quarter. The lack of finances has forced the club to rethink the budget and rely heavily on fundraisers to raise its money.

"We're going to have to be big on fundraising this year," said Bucka. "Especially since we don't have the same budget as we used to. We're trying to put on a couple socials, as far as a pre-game or post-game thing, we might be able to work something with a couple different businesses to get food specials."

While in the past years the Ruff Riders have held pre-game parties at such venues as Stuft Pizza and Mondo Burrito, the success of these events is based primarily on attendance.

The club leaders can promote an event all they want, but ultimately, as Zozos acknowledges, the Ruff Riders can't physically grab people and make them come.

"I think a lot of the problem is that [students] don't know, and that's what we're trying to fix," said Zozos, bristling somewhat at an observation of the lack of students at the match. "We're doing what we can to get the word out there. I think students are also kind of apathetic. It takes effort to find out about certain things, so we're trying to put it in their face so that they have to see it."

Another goal of the Ruff Riders is to "create a fun and exciting atmosphere for club members and all Bronco fans that will solidify home-court/field advantage." Watching the game on Saturday night, Santa Clara was enjoying an ever more than slight home-court advantage, based on the spirit and energy of the Ruff Riders in attendance.

With Nelson and Zozos standing out in the crowd, and with every collective "Oooooh" after a booming kill by Becky Potter or an emphatic block by Becky Biniek, the students in attendance let themselves be heard.

You can get the impression of what the future could hold when, after each game point and the final match point for the Broncos, you can see the student section stand and yell, and seeing a motley crue of referee's shirts, faces painted red and white, a rainbow wig, a golden mullet, or girls wearing bikini tops over their shirts.

Whether "what could be" is ever seen or not will be determined by a collaborative effort and extensive hard work. The Ruff Riders can do all they can to promote upcoming events, but in the end they are at the mercy of the students. Ultimately, it comes down to the individual question of "Do I stay or do I go?"