Editor’s note: From the bleachers is a column to run every Wednesday. It is meant to give a fan’s view of all major happenings on campus relating with NIU athletics.

A typical football season consists of 11 games or 660 minutes. Yet with all that clock time, very few instances can define a season.

This Friday is that opportunity.

With Bowling Green coming to DeKalb for an ESPN2 game, the NIU students need to be ready to yell. It’s time we help make Huskie Stadium the most feared place in the midwest.

The atmosphere should match Randee Drew’s interception that closed the door on Maryland in last year’s overtime thriller.

Huskie fans have just as much pride as any other school does, so show it. There’s no reason NIU can’t rival the intensity of the students at a school like Florida State.

First things first: When the Falcons take the field, there should be a sea of red covering the east stands.

When the defense lines up on the field for first and 10, make your ThunderStix heard. If everyone uses these noise makers, it will make for a very loud 12th man.

The noise can’t stop there either. The Huskie defense is known for its ability to not only crush the other team’s players, but their momentum as well; celebrate this. If our secondary lays out a receiver, make sure the hit is heard way back in the Falcons’ home of Ohio.

If Brian Atkinson makes a big sack, the first thing BG quarterback Omar Jacobs hears when he gets up should be the deafening roar of “B-E-A-S-T!” When the defense forces a fumble or makes an interception, BG should regret the play, not because it’s a bad play but because they don’t want to hear the fans laugh at them.

Every time the high-octane Huskies offense takes the field, the stands should be shaking. Stomp, yell, jump, whatever floats your boat. Huskie Stadium can take the pressure. When the team gets a first down bring back, “That’s another Huskie … First Down!”

Anytime a running back or wide receiver breaks away from the defense, start chanting ESPN Broadcaster Chris Berman’s staple, “He Could Go All the Way!” For every touchdown the Huskies put up on the boards, count how many push-ups the cheerleaders are doing out loud.

When it comes time for Chris Nendick to attempt a field goal, give him the concentration of a Buddhist monk by saying, “OOOHHHMMM” until the kick is made. On the kickoffs, jingle your keys and scream with the rest of the stadium.

By the fourth quarter your throat should be sore – that’s a good thing, so there is no need to quit. At the end of the game, everyone should be getting twice as loud.

The challenge is out, NIU. Give ESPN a reason to keep coming out here each fall. Above all else, have fun. It’s football.