What started as a joke between friends is now the biggest Tennessee soccer support group on campus.
This support group has purchased a drum they painted orange and named Big Bertha – a drum that is used for chants during games – and this group tries to create a homefield advantage for Tennessee.
This group calls themselves the Regal Rowdies.
The Regal Rowdies crew traces its origins to co-leader Matthew Proffitt’s close friendship with Tennessee sophomore forward Amy Neal.
“Last semester, a couple of my friends, we all were in a calculus class together and there was a soccer player (Neal) in our class and we became real good friends,” Proffitt said. “We always joked around and we said, ‘Hey, now that we know you, we are going to come to soccer games, and we are going to have our own little student section and cheer for you and have drums and be really rowdy for you.’ And it was just a big joke.
“So this summer, I got a text from that player, and she was like, ‘Hey, coach is looking for somebody to start some kind of student section for us.’ And I was like ‘I guess I will do it.'”
Proffitt listed increasing school spirit and increasing traditions as some of the Regal Rowdies’ goals. He also emphasized drawing publicity to the women’s soccer team is a major goal for the group.
“We want to get the soccer team’s names of the girls that play out there because they are just as good of athletes because they are at UT and they are the top SEC athletes,” Proffitt said, “and they deserve all the best support, just as any other sport team at UT.”
The Lady Vols have definitely noticed the Regal Rowdies’ efforts and appreciate their support.
“I love them,” senior forward Hannah Wilkinson said. “I think they are so awesome. I think their support gives us so much energy as a team and it is fantastic.”
The Regal Rowdies are in the process of becoming an official organization on campus, which would entitle them to official funding and the ability to rent rooms for meetings.
In the process of becoming an organization, the Regal Rowdies have lived up to their name at the Lady Vols’ two home soccer games this season.
The Regal Rowdies shout traditional soccer chants during the games, create cheers for Tennessee players and, in general, try to create as favorable an atmosphere as possible for the home team.
Tennessee head soccer coach Brian Pensky said he looks forward to hearing whatever the Regal Rowdies may chant, and Neal said she gets fired up whenever she hears a chant about her.
“It pumps me up,” Neal said. “I hear my name and I was like ‘Oh my gosh, fans!’ but it is kind of cool because my high school never had that support and having the support here in college is 10 times better.”
The Regal Rowdies show their support for the Tennessee soccer team at Regal Stadium, but they also take their rowdiness on the road.
Last Sunday, 15 members of the Regal Rowdies traveled to Johnson City to watch the Lady Vols earn a 3-0 victory over East Tennessee State.
“It was great seeing the student body coming to support us, even away,” Neal said.
The Regal Rowdies are currently preparing for the Lady Vols’ SEC home opener against Alabama on Friday night at Regal Soccer Stadium.
And while Proffitt didn’t reveal the Regal Rowdies’ plans for Friday night’s game, he claimed they would have some fun.
“I don’t want to give away all the plans yet, but we have some things that we are trying to get together for the game,” Proffitt said, “some new cheers and activities to do during the game to get the other team unfocused and have a lot of fun.”
