The spirit of WT and some of its traditions are coming back to life as various sports seasons are underway.  From volleyball to football, and other sports in between, Buff fans are coming back together to show their support and encouragement to the university and its athletes.
Students and fans from the community supported the Lady Buffs Volleyball team at the BritKare Lady Buff Classic Sept. 5-6. At the end of each game, the Lady Buffs stood and held their Buff signs as the band played the Alma Mater. Head coach Jason Skoch said this year will be different.
“We have injuries, and we have kids that have never done this before,” Skoch said, “so this will be test to see how loyal players and supporters are if it gets rough early on.”
Though the Lady Buffs fell to two teams last weekend, leading to a record of 2-2 to start the season, the crowd still cheered and remained standing after the games until the end of the beloved tune.
“Everybody up,” is a familiar sound at volleyball and basketball games. At The Box before volleyball games and at the First United Bank Center before basketball games, fans stand up and clap in unison until the opponent scores their first point. The fans can remain standing and clapping for a large amount of time during a period of Buffalo domination. It is also a tradition to stand and cheer at volleyball games when the Lady Buffs are one point away from a match win.
At football games, fans can always expect to see the Herdsmen running across the turf with WT’s beloved mascot, Thunder, a tradition that has been alive since the fall of 1977. The Herdsmen founders believed a live mascot was needed to get the students and team fired up. Still, in 2014, the Herdsmen can be seen running down the field with the buffalo, now Thunder 11. The Herdsmen and Thunder 11 are followed on the field by members of the Maroon Platoon carrying flags that spell out “Buffs.”
The Maroon Platoon is campus organization whose mission is “to support and cheer on our West Texas Buffs,” according to their Facebook page. The Maroon Platoon is easily recognized by the men who paint their bodies at football and basketball games. Members of the Maroon Platoon can also be seen performing a dance called the Haka before sporting events.
The Haka is a traditional ancestral war dance that is performed by a group, with strong movements and stomping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment.
Whether it is a football game or a volleyball match, fans young and old stand tall and proud to cheer on the West Texas A&M University Buffaloes.