Fans brave snow and cold to cheer on team

Every other year, thousands of football fans invade Bloomington from Columbus, Ohio, to watch their Ohio State Buckeyes battle IU on the football field. This weekend the cars were headed in the other direction as Hoosier fans journeyed to Columbus to watch IU compete in a different brand of football -- that of the international variety.\nThe IU soccer team's improbable run to the National Championship concluded Sunday with a 2-1 victory over St. John's at Crew Stadium. The win secured IU's sixth national title as it sent the NCAA record holder for career wins, coach Jerry Yeagley, off into the sunset with one more championship. \nHundreds of Hoosier fans made the four-hour drive from Bloomington to Columbus for Friday night's national semifinal match and were rewarded with some extra soccer, as the contest against Santa Clara went into two overtimes. The Hoosier fans battled frigid temperatures and kept their spirits high with the usual soccer chants of "Ole, Ole, Ole" and spelling out "Y-E-A-G-L-E-Y" as well as some creative takes on old favorites, singing, "All I want for Christmas is the College Cup."\nWith the temperatures dipping into the high teens, Crew Stadium had a large number of open seats, yet the IU section was filled to the brim with Hoosier students and alumni, accompanied by members of IU's band and Hoosier cheerleaders. \nAt the 103:50 mark of the contest, sophomore midfielder Pat Yates took a lofted ball from sophomore midfielder Brian Plotkin and headed it past the Santa Clara keeper sending the Hoosiers to the National Championship game. As the ball trickled in the back of the net, Yates sprinted toward the Hoosier fans and was subsequently mobbed by the entire team. \n"It is great that no one travels the way we do," senior midfielder Drew Shinabarger said during Saturday's press conference. "It is great to come out and hear your fight song. In the double overtime, the crowd really picked us up," \nBack in Bloomington, Hoosier fans were forced to either listen to the game on the radio or watch a two-by-two inch video feed over the Internet provided by ESPN.com. \n"ESPN was going to re-air the match on tape delay Saturday afternoon, but what good does that do?" senior David Resnik said. "We already know what has happened by then. A couple of buddies came over, and we huddled around the computer. It was tiny, but the quality of the picture wasn't too bad. I mean, it was better than nothing."\nAfter the Hoosiers' victory Friday night, some students decided they'd rather book a hotel room and stay in Columbus until Sunday instead of driving back to Bloomington only to return a day later. \n"It's an eight-hour drive round trip," junior Matthew Schwartz said. "I love IU soccer, but 16 hours of driving in three days for soccer seemed a little extreme, especially with finals next week. We brought our books with us just in case and studied in the hotel, or at least, we tried to."\nSome students took a different approach, not wanting to miss the IU-Butler basketball game Saturday.\n"We planned on having a hectic weekend," sophomore Pablo Svirsky said. "We left Friday afternoon and got into Columbus a little after 6 p.m. We tailgated with some Hoosiers fans before the game and left after the post-game celebration in the parking lot. We got back into Bloomington at 4 a.m., woke up just before the basketball game. And we're leaving for Columbus for the championship game early Sunday morning." \nSunday morning when Hoosier fans looked outside, they were greeted by a blanket of white. Inches of snow gathered in both Columbus and Bloomington, making the drive from campus to Crew Stadium a much more daunting task. \n"These are Jerry's last games," Svirsky said. "I want to be here and pay my tribute to a soccer coaching legend. I don't care if there's snow on the ground. If they're playing, I'm going."\nThe Hoosiers jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with a goal by junior forward Ned Grabavoy, whose journey to Columbus was much more trying than any of the Hoosiers' fans, flying from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to compete in the National Championship match. The Hoosiers' second goal, scored by freshman forward Jacob Peterson, sent the IU contingent into a frenzy as it looked like the Hoosiers were well on their way to capturing the title.\nBut as the game continued and the snow picked up, nervous moments ensued as St. John's picked up the pressure and scored a late goal to draw within a strike of deadlocking the match. Cheered on by the band, Hoosier fans again tried to pick up the team's spirits, reciting IU's fight song and cheering rabidly.\nAt the referee's final whistle, a team that notched only one win in their first seven matches this season was lifting its sixth national title plaque, displaying it for all the Hoosier faithful to see.\n-- Contact staff writer Matt Glenesk at mglenesk@indiana.edu.