They wear yellow shirts with alligators on them and they scream and they holler. What they say depends on if you’re the home team (nice things), or an opposing player (not so nice things).

These are the TailGators and they take what they do seriously.

The TailGators are a group that came together to show support and spirit for the sports teams which they feel get a raw deal at a commuter school. They say their main point is to show support for the Gators’ teams but they get their kicks out of ripping the opposition.

“We’re an elite group of trash talkers,” said Ted Thomas, one of the “Original Five” TailGators. Even though he graduated and no longer attends the school he may have more spirit than most of the people who attend SF State.

Thomas said the TailGators are unaffiliated with SF State. Why?

“If we say something (extreme) then they can kick us out. And trust me, we will. So why bother,” Thomas said.

Believe him. Because they do. A checklist of what came up during the men’s soccer game with Chico State on Saturday 17: moms, sisters, receding hairlines and orange parking cones.

Just take a guess about the context of those things. Only one chance...

But do the TailGators actually help the home team? Well, they definitely don’t help the opposing team.

On Saturday the TailGators decided to belittle Chico player Spencer Stanton.

“He missed a PK (penalty kick)!” Thomas said. “That’s like missing a field goal in football. You have to make those!”

So they set their sights on him and wouldn’t let up, “SPENCER, SPENCER, SPENCER...you suck!”

As the game progressed Spencer ended up getting kicked out of the game for two blatant fouls that he made on Gators players. Did the TailGators have anything to do with that? They think so.

But they didn’t leave their ridicule for one player. They had to spread it around.

During the second period Chico player Roger Davanger fell to the floor after colliding with a Gator. The TailGators booed him and then one piped in and said, “Just rub his balls for him!”

Also, Zach Stanton from Chico State had the ball kicked out of bounds as he was trying to push it into Gator territory. TailGator, Jeremy Clevenger said, “Hey, Five, you got lucky!” Thomas chimed in right after and said, “Hey, Five, you really suck! How ‘bout that! Ha!”

That made everyone laugh and brought the crowd back into it after the TailGators had become quiet for a few minutes.

Thomas started banging on his bongo drums and the TailGators were off trying to demean the opposing team once again.

But the Chico State players weren’t the only ones to be minimized. At half time the usual music wasn’t played over the loud speaker and the TailGators got antsy. So they pleaded to the games announcer, TailGator alumni, Ivan Basquill.

“Ivan, can you at least tell us a story!”

Whether they were verbally attacking the opposing team or trying to supportive to SF State’s team, they were getting a kick out of themselves.

“I’m not going to lie,” Thomas said. “We’re funny.”