SPORTS
SPARTANS’ VERY OWN SUPERFAN:
ANDREW BLAINE
Diego Bascur
Meet Andrew Blaine, a TWU Spartans superfan. From 2018 until now, Andrew has been a die-hard fan of the Spartans. He has been heavily involved with all the team activities and fills an important spot amongst the TWU community. His spirit and commitment inspires and is at the heart of what it means to be a true fan—more so a deep friend. Andrew and I sit outside Sparta, the Spartans workout facility. He has just come out of a Spartan workout session after having fun with some of the athletes.
DB: Alright Andrew, so how did you get connected to TWU?
AB: I was brought here by my friend Avery Hemple who played on the Women’s Volleyball Team. I graduated with her in 2016 from our high school and then we reconnected in her second year in 2018—she invited me to TWU. We reconnected at CLA (Christian Life Assembly), and then she brought me to games. And then, yeah, it just kind of snowballed from there.
DB: That’s sick. How did you end up getting more involved in the Spartan community?
AB: Not necessarily right away. It took me maybe a couple of years because when you’re around only one team you’re kind of locked into that team. Two or three years in, I got more involved with the Spartans, getting to go to other games and practices.
DB: What’s been your favorite sport to watch?
AB: Volleyball.
DB: How does it feel seeing athletes come in their first year and then you being able to see them play all throughout their university career?
AB: I mean it’s kind of weird seeing people in their first year, all my old friends graduating. I still watch Avery play pro overseas and for Team Canada. I gotta be honest with you: it was weird not seeing her play for TWU anymore, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to keep watching but I feel like supporting the new Spartans is what I am supposed to do now.
DB: What does it mean to you now to watch the Spartans play?
AB: It means the world to me.
DB: As a superfan, do you get involved in getting to know the Spartans outside of their sport? Because I feel you do more than just go to games.
AB: Well, right now I am working in the booth at games. I go to practices and a lot of the team workouts as well, which is a lot of fun. It’s definitely demanding for me to get more involved and it would be a busy schedule for me, but I want to find more ways to get involved in any way I can.
DB: Do you have a favorite Spartan moment?
AB: If I had to pick one, there was one time in the playoffs before COVID-19 where I was upstairs with the Women’s Volleyball Team in their locker room. They gave me a TWU jacket and that was awesome. Another time that was challenging but great was in 2022 for the Nationals which was Avery’s last year. I was able to fly out to Calgary to watch them win the championship, and it was tough because I was pretty sick at the time, but it was so worth it!
Andrew and I finish our interview as athletes pass by saying hi to Andrew. Look for him at the next Spartans game you go to; he will be the one hollering at the other team in the front row.