In an editorial titled “Laker Nation?” in the Oct. 25 edition of the Lanthorn, the editorial staff called for fans of Grand Valley State University to support their support by showing out to more than just university football games. It praised the fans for giving strong showings at GVSU football games while at the same time criticizing them for not supporting the university’s other prominent programs.

But it seems that the fans are even having trouble supporting GVSU’s cornerstone athletic program. In Saturday’s 35-13 victory over Colorado School of Mines, a playoff game, the football team looked fantastic on the field, but the turnout in the stands was, quite frankly, pathetic. Only 4,709 tickets were sold, or given out in the case of GVSU students, for Saturday’s game, which is by far the lowest total of any home game this season.

Of that total, 1,893 tickets were given out to students, which, again, is by far the lowest total of the season. The now second-lowest student total was 2,586 against Lake Erie College, which is understandable for a regular season game against one of the conference’s bottom-feeders, but to have even less students turn out for a playoff game is simply unacceptable.

Not even the allure of a $500 scholarship was enough to get more students to show up. GVSU Athletics held a promotion Saturday in which it would donate $1 for each student in attendance at the game. The total amount would then go to fund as many $500 scholarships as GVSU Athletics could produce. If the average attendance of 4,800 students would have turned out for Saturday’s game, it would have meant nine $500 scholarships for nine lucky GVSU students.

Instead, there were only two.

You may ask why there were only two scholarships when GVSU Athletics gave away 1,893 student tickets. The answer — students needed to be in attendance to count toward the scholarship total. Andy Fry, the athletic ticket and fan development manager for GVSU Athletics, said the staff usually doesn’t keep track of how many fans actually attend games after obtaining a ticket, but they did Saturday. Of the 1,893 tickets that GVSU Athletics gave out to students, only 1,100 showed up for the game. And just so we don’t forget, this was a playoff game, which meant an early-season exit had the Lakers lost to the Orediggers.

The highest student ticket total was 8,100 in the first game of the season against West Texas A&M University, and the sales have gone downhill from there, which is understandable. Students are excited for the opening of the football season, and as the semester wears on they become too bogged down with school and work to have spare time to attend a regular season game.

Still, that does not excuse the pitiful turnout for what could have possibly been the last game in Lubbers Stadium this season. The Laker football team has sparked much of the university’s athletic prowess of the past decade. As the team continues to represent the university in the post season, students should show their support and take pride in the team’s performance as an extension of the university.