When you think of UNA athletics, I would be willing to bet you the first sport that comes to your mind is football. Why would you not think about the football team that has won three Division II championships and has established itself as one of the top programs in the land?

And-as you can see when August comes rolling around-students get amped up about UNA football.

When I became the sports editor for The Flor-Ala, I knew Lion pride for football was the highest of any sport here. When this year’s football team played a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup against Delta State, the atmosphere for that game was electric and support was through the roof. It couldn’t get any better.

At that point, I thought to myself, UNA football has no comparison to other sports when it comes to Lion pride. I figured once football season was over those same fans that came out and filled Braly Stadium would not return again until September.

As basketball season started up, the fan support for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams was pretty good for the most part, but it was not at the same intensity level as football was. Then the big matchup against our rival No. 12 UAH came up, and I was eager to see if the crowds of fall would return to cheer on the basketball teams as much as they had for Lion football.

As the first half of the men’s game flew by, I stopped taking notes for the game coverage and started to look around at all the fans with their white shirts on cheering and screaming for a big upset, and Flowers Hall was filled to capacity.

The energy in the building was so high; it reminded me so much of that epic game in football season. Even though the Lions lost the nail-biter, fans went up to the players and told them how much they appreciated their playing efforts.

After seeing the turnout of fans for that game, it made me realize Lion pride isn’t just for football; it’s for basketball as well. Seeing the support for those sports made me think UNA would come out and support the Lions in every sport we play.

As the baseball, softball and tennis seasons begin, I’m looking forward to seeing that next epic game and the Lion pride in full force cheering the team to victory.

To contact Tommy, call 256-765-5018 or you can follow him on Twitter at @FlorAlaSports.