Kristin Petrella is a huge Orange fan. She might not paint her body blue and orange or get belligerently drunk before the game with a group of sports-crazed buddies, but she makes sure to support Syracuse University's men's basketball team in her own way.
Petrella was a cheerleader in high school. She attributes her over-abundance of school spirit to her years on the squad.
Petrella has a specific pre-game ritual that she follows nearly every time she attends a game. She usually spends about a half an hour getting ready to look the part of an S.U. fan. "The look" involves a bright orange bow in her hair, Otto earrings, one of her many Syracuse t-shirts, a blue and orange pom pom in her pocket, and Syracuse decals on her cheeks.
As a senior, Petrella realized this was her last year to cheer the Orange from the student section. "I was determined to go to as many games as possible this year," she said. Unfortunately, most of Petrella's friends were not so enthusiastic. Most of them didn't buy season tickets. She found it difficult to find friends to go with her to the games.
But Petrella was not to be deterred. She attended most of the games by herself and wasn't afraid to be a crazy fan."I do a lot of dancing," she admitted.
Her devotion to the Orange has little to do with proving herself as the ultimate female fan, but she does like to make things clear. Boys aren't the only ones who love basketball.
"I think female fans are underestimated in their capacity to actually understand and analyze the game," Petrella said. She wanted people to know that just because girls weren't raised on game analysis, doesn't mean they don't know what's going on. Instead, she'd rather people focus on supporting the team in one way or another. She said it's nice to see people of all ages and genders attending the games. For Petrella, filling up the seats in the Carrier Dome is just as important as the game itself.
"Everybody's got their own thing. I mean, whatever gets the fans in the seats," Petrella explained. "I think everyone should be a fan."
