Fan Power: Who are we really competing against?

When I heard that this year's Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament for volleyball was not going to be held in Bristol, Tenn., I was eager.

We have played at King (Tenn.) College the last few years, and their facilities are the best I've seen. However, it is a challenge to play against the Tornado in their gym, owed to their hefty fan base. So my eagerness can be understood as the conference tournament moved to Kingsport, Tenn.

Held in the Marriott Hotel's Convention Center, the two courts were squeezed, to say the least, into a single conference room. In our first match versus Covenant (Ga.) College the atmosphere seemed customary for a neutral location. A few parents from wither team here and there, but mostly the noise came from the players. In the second match, against Bryan (Tenn.) College there was a but more noise. Although it could be said that Bryan is a large rival for the Lady Bulldogs, so a more intense atmosphere could be expected. But as we pulled off the win I realized there weren't too many Bryan College fans either. 

We played our final match of Friday against King. No shortage of fans here, King fan lined the seats on both sides of the courts, except the 8 trusty parents who came out for Union. Upon starting this match, I thought to myself, "THIS is neutral?"

Suddenly Kingsport was feeling a lot like Bristol. 

With the way we left King College last month, a battle to five games and the match was decided in the last few points, there was bound to be some hype on this match. King's faithful rowdy fans are not their students, but their parents. As a player, it has become a part of athletics, hearing hoots and hollers from fans, you learn early on that all you can do is ignore it.

However, it was not that the fans were inappropriate, (THAT can be debated) but it was the amount of fans that were there. This created the feeling of playing at King.

The definition of neutral: not aligned with, supporting, or favoring either side in a war, dispute, or contest. My question is, if this game was held in Corbin, Ky., a neutral site, would that seem bias? It's only 20 minutes from Union and three hours from Bristol. Could this have affected the outcome of this tournament, or any other? In volleyball, the answer is yes.

Momentum is a huge part of volleyball and fans carry the majority of the burden. Even more so than other sports now that there is rally score. The game can change on any point. So what kind of power can fans have over volleyball games? A lot.

Fans have always been a hassle at King College, especially during conference tournament, but in the past the conference tournament didn't hold the weight it does now. Winning the tournament is the only berth to the NAIA National Championship Tournament. Conference is bigger than ever.

So with the location so important now, lets take a second and ask ourselves, what is neutral?