Ay-Ziggy-Zoomba.com

Okay, so the point of this thread is to find online fans who have been to multiple MAC arenas and have them rank the top student sections. The thing is I am looking for feedback from those that have been to 4+ MAC arenas in their lifetimes. So any of you traveling Falcon fans wanna help me out? Basically tell me what arenas you have been to (preferrably since 2000 at the latest) and then rank your top 5 student fan sections. Those votes that I use will be listed on VanDelaySports.com's Best of the MAC article once I have it completed.

Bowling Green - when we were good and won, not this year unfortunately
Ball State
Kent State - who ALWAYS has winning teams
Toledo- who I hate, but I've only visited four places so I have to list them
Eastern Michigan - who had very few students show up

I'm just gonna go based on what I've seen on TV.

1. Kent St. (with everyone wearing gold and the flashes lighting up the scoreboard with 3, it is very loud)
2. Western Michigan (the bracket buster they had on ESPN a few years ago the place was goin absolutely nuts and they have blackouts where everyone wears black)
3. OU (their O Zone with the white towels waving is pretty cool)
4. BGSU (when the place is packed and its a good game, their is nothing more intimadating then Anderson Arena and the the students on the sideline right in your face)
5. Tie between Akron & Buffalo (i havent seen much of the bulls' students but i hear they are pretty loud and the AK rowdies at Akron are decent)

1. Kent St. -they always fill theyre arena...its a sea of yellow.

2. BGSU -only when it is full and its a BIG game...the Anderson Animals and Sideline squad, theres nothing more intimidating in the MAC

3. Akron -as much as i dislike the zips, the AK-rowdies get pretty crazy

4. Ohio -the O ZONE can be pretty intimidating

5. Fuffalo -havent really seen their fans but, ive heard stories that they are pretty loud

I’ve been to every MAC school for games and many times. Unfortunately in the MAC (and for BG this season), the best student sections fluctuate year to year with their team’s performances. A perfect example of this is CMU. CMU’s student section right now is pretty dead, but a few years ago, it was pretty awesome and one of the MAC’s best in select years (Kaman and Webber's last years). As many of us know on here, the exact same thing can be said about BG. Then some other schools like WMU have really turned it around and gotten better and better over recent years. Ohio has always been solid with support over the years, even in season’s where they aren’t doing all that well. Then there are schools like Kent State, where prior to a decade ago were poor, but the last eight years or so have totally changed. A school like Buffalo has improved vastly in recent years, but was probably the worst a couple years ago. It’s really hard to nail it down with the way the sections seem to change and evolve.

But here’s how I would rate the best student sections, say, over the last five to ten years. I did it with this in mind to group some of the good and bad seasons together for all teams with their student sections in mind. Obviously there is no right or wrong answer, and you could certainly mix and match a lot of schools.

1. Ohio – The O-Zone has had solid support year after year, even a few years ago when they weren’t playing as well as recently. They have a great turnout and their students are right on the floor (like BG). Right now, I’d say it’s the MAC’s best.
2. Western Michigan – The Zoo has gotten better over the year and is one of the best in the MAC now. I like their location in the layout of the arena and they were a big part of aiding WMU to its MAC title run a few years ago.
3. Kent State – Prior to a decade ago, the student section was almost an afterthought. Now, it has turned out to be one of the MAC’s better student sections.
4. Bowling Green – Regarded as one of the MAC’s best, but not this year. It pains me to say it, but BG has really fallen off here. The location of the section is still great, but the lack of turnout has been directly related to the team’s lack of success. With wins, the students will come. It’s still been good in recent years, but not this one.
5. Ball State – Not exactly the most intimidating section by any means, but usually has decent support. If I were to rank teams right now, I’d say you could put schools like Buffalo or Akron in here right now.