Here are 'Da Superfans'

Four IU freshmen unintentionally sat together at their first IU men's soccer game in 2003. \nTwo years later, they're still in the front row of every home soccer match.\nNow as juniors, Matt Bueter, David Fridley, Nelson Spade and John Fischer have shirts on their backs proclaiming their group, along with the numerous other groupies known as 'Da Superfans. Spade said what was already a close fan-to-team relationship is now a closer connection for students cheering for the two-time defending national champions because of the unity a common T-shirt brings.\n"We've always had our sights on becoming a bigger and better cheer block," Spade said.\nWith the help of sponsors Pizza Express (where Nelson works and sometimes moonlights as the "Pizza Express Man") and Trojan Horse, the student cheer block was able to create the shirts. Fans can purchase the shirts for $3, with part of the proceeds going toward buying a new 'Da Superfans banner, replacing the original (a spray painted bedsheet).\nSpade said fans can purchase the T-shirts at matches, beginning with tonight's 7 p.m. game versus Butler at Yeagley Field. Fans can look for Spade selling the T-shirts before the game and during halftime on the walkway between the cider track and the stands, right in front of 'Da Superfans section.\nThe Hoosiers said they are happy to return home to the Superfans for two games this week after a four-game road swing through the Midwest. After going 2-1-1 in the four games, IU now sits at 8-1-4 overall while Butler comes in with a 9-5-0 overall record.\n"No let downs (tonight), Butler is a good team and they are as good as anybody," IU head coach Mike Freitag said.\nFreitag, one of the main supporters of 'Da Superfans, even sends the original quartet e-mails to keep them abreast with information regarding the team. He also provides suggestions for cheers, sometimes telling the group to stay away from certain cheers that "may not be in the spirit of the game," Freitag said. But the coach said he loves how the students are singing and yelling the entire match.\n"We've always had good support, even back in the stone-age when I played," Freitag said. "If you look at some of the pictures of some of the games we had in the football stadium and there were some crowds there."\n'Da Superfans will now greet visiting teams with their new shirts, which are red and sport the words "'Da Superfans" with a Superman logo on the front. On the back of the shirts, it says "The 12th Man" along with the logos of the sponsors.\nSpade said the group got the name 'Da Superfans from when the IU Crabb Band does a cheer at the end of matches when an IU win is certain. One element of the cheer asks, "Where are 'Da Superfans?" To which the fans point to themselves and reply, "Here are 'Da Superfans."\n'Da Superfans even had its name ‑ along with a full page picture ‑ mentioned in a 2004 book "The Kickin' Hoosiers," about the IU men's soccer team by IU alumna Kathryn L. Knapp.\nSpade said it is worth the effort to go to such lengths for the men's soccer team, with only one disappointment coming out of the group's efforts.\n"We look at it as though if they can play 90 minutes full out, we can endure whatever elements the weather throws at us," Spade said. "I remember a game freshman year versus Penn State. We had our shirts off, it was raining and hailing, and they canceled the game eight minutes short of it being an official game. That was probably the only disappointment we've endured."\nJunior defender Jed Zayner said his brother recently snagged him one of the newly made T-shirts\n"It's great that the T-shirts are coming from the students and not from an athletics committee," Zayner said. "It's the students who organized it and the alumni just helped them get it. It's just great that the students did this"