The Helmet Guy is known around campus for his booming voice when he leads cheers for Auburn baseball, and recently, softball as the team continues to succeed. But it’s not just the Helmet Guy who keeps the crowd pumped. Baseball’s official heckling club, Section 111, has been filling the gaps of game silence in their own fashion.
With a solid group of 20-25 people, Section 111 keeps the game interesting by heckling the opposing players, calling them out by name.
Their most popular cheer is yelled when the opposing pitcher tries to throw a runner out on first for inching off first base.
They start by yelling to the pitcher the runner is on the move, but when the pitcher throws to first and the runner stays safe, the leader of the section yells, “Not even!” and the rest join in with, “Close!”
According to former Section 111 leader and Auburn alumnus Tim Penix, the group was assembled around 2000 when the baseball team was under the leadership of Steve Renfroe.
“It was passed down to me.” Penix said. “It was started by a group of students and coach Renfroe actually wanted something unique from other baseball venues. When Auburn baseball traveled and went to different locations, every baseball venue had it’s own unique feel to it. He wanted something that the students could get involved in with Auburn baseball and the heckling section evolved from that.”
Beck Smith, recent graduate in civil engineering, currently leads the section in what members call a “Becktatorship.”
“Beck was a more veteran member, and I felt that he was responsible enough to take over and help the group to progress forward,” Penix said. “Having a loud echoing voice definitely helps. There are times when you have to play along with the moment. One of the things that stood out to me with Beck was that if I wasn’t there, he would take the reins. Also, he stood out as someone I could depend on to keep everything going.”
Smith said a few things make up the leadership role.
“I’ve been to pretty much every game since I’ve been (at Auburn),” Smith said. “Being committed to going to games, baseball knowledge is a big one, knowing about the program, knowing how everything fits in together, and of course having a loud voice.”
He also said the loud voice trait takes time to develop.
“After the first few games, I’m pretty hoarse.” Smith said. “It takes building up through the years to get to where I can holler the whole game.”
Chandler Fullman, sophomore in social science education, joined at the start of the 2015 season, and said there are rules to abide by when deciding what cheers to yell out during a typical day in Plainsman Park.
“We have our 10 commandments.” Fullman said. “No cussing, be nice to the kids, we try to be family friendly, because baseball is a family game, and we just want to have fun with it.”
Smith said the cheers are mostly passed down, but the group looks to add more as they go.
“Some of them were already come up with like the, 'Not even close.’” Smith said. “But we try to come up with new stuff all the time. If it’s funny, it’s funny.”
As much as the group tries to keep the cheers family friendly, it still runs into negative feedback from fans sometimes.
“I’ve had family members and fans from the opposing team come up and very proudly let us know how they feel about us,” Penix said. “One of the (Auburn) parents would explain who we were so that they understood, and then after that it would be fine. We try to be compromising.”
Several years ago, Penix said an opposing pitcher’s father approached the section in frustration and cussed them out for picking on his son’s performance. However, Penix said the more information parents give to the group, the easier it is to heckle the opposing players.
“We tried to signal the security to come over and [the pitcher’s father] said, ‘No, no, no I’m sorry, my son’s in a slump, and I don’t know what it is, but you guys are frustrating me,’" Penix said. "But then we started chanting, ‘Slump.' We thought this guy was going to crawl into the bleachers and beat us up.”
Although these issues happen, Smith said there’s more positive feedback from the other side.
“Whenever I’m at the bars, the players come up and say they enjoy it," Smith said. “I’ve had parents tell me how much they enjoy it also, and I’ve had opposing parents even tell me they enjoy it. Two years ago when Vandy came and played, one of their starting pitcher’s granddads was there, and we all went out to eat, and he ended up buying our dinner that night.”
Fullman also said in Auburn’s opening round of the SEC Tournament against Kentucky, the section sat behind third base and heckled the third baseman, who tweeted them after the game saying, “Best hecklers ever.”
Whatever the response from the crowd may be, Section 111 isn’t leaving any time soon.
Smith graduated from Auburn in May and is planning on joining the Navy, but the search for a new group leader is underway.
“It’s just something fun to do, we all enjoy it,” Fullman said.
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