There are some who say “Ask and you shall receive.” Well, the Stony Brook Seawolves fans in the Red Zone student section of LaValle Stadium and Pritchard Gymnasium have asked for a few things over the years, but now the school has given back to perhaps the most loyal part of its fan base.
Over the Summer, Stony Brook Athletics refurbished the Red Zone’s student section in LaValle Stadium.
“It consisted mostly of an addition of a podium for someone to lead the chants as well as new bleachers an a fresh layer of paint,” said Garrett Matula, president of the Red Zone. “As for the comfort it makes it more organized chaos with one person leading chants and spirit fingers but also the new benches are comfortable. As for further additions to the stadium I’d really like to see bleachers behind both field goals and do something like St. Johns during soccer where the red storm switches sides to be behind their team.”
“It’s the same but new,” senior Ray Ragunauth, an athletic training major, said. “It’s better than same and old. I was here over the summer while they were [working on] it.”
Work on the student section took the majority of the summer and continued precariously close to the Seawolves’ home opener against Brown University.
“They were there from the middle of June to some time in the middle of September,” said Adam Gutes, an athletic communications assistant. “You have to take into account lacrosse season and the weather.”
With everything that is new about the student section’s appearance, the sentiment on the part of its inhabitants remains the same.
Ragunauth said that the best part about being in the Red Zone was “just seeing everyone I know cheering – everyone coming together.”
For others who have not frequented the Red Zone, it provides a nice new perspective on Stony Brook’s sports teams and possibly a chance to get close to Wolfie.
“I used to be on the dance team,” said Katherine Galatis, a senior and biology major. “It’s a lot of fun being able to sit back and enjoy the game.”
Refurbished or not, Seawolves fans have given a hint with their actions that they shall return to the Red Zone week after week.
