Interviews with John Mace and Patrick Rhatican
Considering the massive amounts of historical negativity relating to Trinity football’s fan following and student support, interviews with former Trinity students have very different outlooks. During my first interview, John Mace, a 1971 Trinity graduate and Bengal Lancer alum described what it has been like watching Trinity football develop over the years. He didn’t play football during his time at Trinity, but had fraternity brothers and friends who were on the team. Mace still lives in San Antonio and has attended at least one game each year since 2000 and many during his time as a student; so he has seen Trinity’s development throughout the past several decades. When asked to compare how full the stands used to be during home games compared to now, he stated, “The team used to play games in Alamo Stadium, so there was no way that their fan base would come close to filling the stands.” (Mace)
Although we currently play in the much smaller Trinity Tiger stadium, he estimated that around the same sized crowds attended the games this season, but with much more enthusiasm. He thinks that this is due to the up-tempo play style of this season, which creates a lot more excitement for the people who come to watch. He said that he noticed the stands were full of mostly parents, with not that many students supporting the team. During his time at Trinity, he and a large group of friends made an appearance at every single home game, displaying their commitment and love for the team. Mace may have been a part of the small group of students who supported Tiger football in the 1970’s, as many accounts from the Trinitonian have stated that there was minimal fan encouragement. It is a great sign that Trinity had committed fans even through their struggles in the 1970’s and 80’s, because the program may have dissolved without them.
During my second interview with current Trinity football coach and former Trinity player, Patrick Rhatican, he stated that the program was in a bit of an outlier stage when it comes to fan involvement compared to most of its history. When asked to describe the overall game attendance, game atmosphere, and fan support during his time as a player, he stated that there was only room for fans who wanted to remain standing the whole time at home games. He detailed a times during his junior and senior year when “students were allowed into the south end zone, which brought a lot of energy to the team because your friends who didn’t play football were out there on the field experiencing the game as you do. It made celebrating touchdowns more enjoyable because it was a fan experience.”
This description of Trinity football is extremely different than what has been described in the Trinitonian and special collections archives, and even from the atmosphere at games today. The fan support and energy at Coach Rhatican’s games seemed much more enjoyable for both players and fans than our current level of support and attendance allows. This could be due to the success of the team that year, and the solution could even be as simple as letting students to roam the grass behind an end zone to create more of an exhilarating experience for all of those involved.