Fans go to great lengths to cheer on Hoosiers

CARSON, Calif. -- Two-thousand miles for two games might not seem like an even trade off, but try telling that to Charlie Teeple, or any of the more than 200 Hoosier faithful fans in attendance for the weekend's matches.\nMore than anyone, try telling that to the IU pep band that even on the other end of the country, made its Hoosiers feel right at home.\n"The high that you get when you walk out of that locker room and (the band) is playing the fight song, it's indescribable," said junior forward Pat Yates.\nFrom students, to alumni, to family; everyone wanted to do their part in bringing a little bit of Bloomington all the way to California.\n"(The Hoosiers) had great support out in Bloomington," said 2001 IU alum John Koluder. "It shouldn't be any different here."\nWhen it comes to IU support, nobody embodies everything IU soccer like Teeple.\n"It's my retirement hobby," he said. "I retired in 1992 and I've seen virtually every game that Indiana has played, home or away, since then."\nThe over-80-year-old Teeple already has trips to New Mexico, Missouri and Michigan under his belt this season, as the only game he's missed was a game at Penn State. \nA trip to California in December wasn't just welcomed; it was routine.\nThe routine for another set of IU soccer fans often consisted of Green Day's "Basket Case," Dr. Dre's "Forgot About Dre," and of course, the IU fight song. That group is the IU pep band.\n"I think we make it feel like a home game," said senior tuba player Graham Keith. "That's what (former coach Jerry) Yeagley said last year. We make it feel like a home-field advantage."\nWhen Sunday's final game rolled around, the IU fans were thrown into a David versus Goliath type of situation. The couple hundred IU travelers had to square off against the couple thousand University of California-Santa Barbara fans.\nDespite being overwhelmed for most of the match, only one chant was necessary at the end of the day:\n"Scoooreboard. Scoooreboard. Scoooreboard."\nAll chants aside, just the presence of a little crimson in a sea of yellow and blue made all the difference for the Hoosiers.\n"Our fans this year have been great throughout the whole year at home," said IU coach Mike Freitag. "The commitment to come out here from the fans just shows how much they love this team."\nLast year, IU fans had the benefit of only needing a three-hour drive to catch the national championship in Columbus, Ohio. A little more time was needed to make it to the 2004 College Cup, but the thought of California in December provided that extra incentive.\n"Last year, it was 20 degrees, and it got down to negative 15 with the wind chill," said Zach Zayner, brother of sophomore back Jed Zayner. "I was there both games, and it was horrible."\nThe temperature never got lower than 50 degrees for this year's cup.\n-- Contact staff writer Brian Janosch at bjanosch@indiana.edu.