For Tammie Goss, Melinda Defee and Heather Minton the definition of a super fan dwells much deeper than anything you can find or see while sitting in the stands.

For these three women being a super fan is being there when it counts.

“It means supporting the boys 100 percent at anything, whether its academics or if they are doing something in the community,” Minton said. “It’s being there for those boys or girls 150 percent of the time.”

It’s about backing and supporting the players whether the desired outcome on the field or court is achieved or not.

“It’s a fan who is always going to be there to support the team. They are always going to be cheering and making signs,” Defee said. “They are there two hours early, we are always the first one’s there and the last to leave.”

These three Pike County “superfans” invest a lot of time cheering on the Bulldog players in every sport. They do it not because they want the outcome on the field to be a success, but because they want to be able to support these young student athletes when others may not.

“Just for them to know they have someone in their corner no matter how good they do on the football field, or if they make a play they shouldn’t have, we are still there to support them,” Goss said. “They know that we are there and that we love them. A lot of people dream of meeting their favorite NFL star; those kids mean the most to me.”

Being a teacher brings along the responsibilities of molding young minds and teaching them to succeed in life. According to Minton, those responsibilities don’t just stop in the classroom.

“Growing up my mom went with all of her 4H members. Whether it was to Pike County games or somewhere else in the community, we were always at football games,” Minton said. “So seeing her with her children, who were all over the county, instilled in me that if you teach them to do something, they are yours. You go and support them. It doesn’t matter if they are blood or if they are your favorite or not. It’s your time to go and support the children. If that’s what you do everyday and you invest your time in that and they sit and listen to everyday, than the least thing you can do is go watch them for 90 minutes play a sport.”

Just because they are teachers and may be calm in the classroom, these fans aren’t afraid to show their support on the field.

“I anybody goes to a Pike County football game they are going to leave telling people about a crazy lady with a bullhorn who is really loud and who you can hear above everyone else,” Defee said, describing herself.

Even if it is as simple as taking time out of their busy day to watch and support these athletes, these three ladies will be there to make their presence known.

“Being their teachers, they’re all my babies,” Defee said. “Some of them don’t even have anyone to come out to support them, so we are always there. They know that if no one else is there to support them, at least the three of us will be there.”

This isn’t a one-way street; these three ladies get just as much out of their experience as the players do. When they leave the sporting events they always take home with them the comfort of knowing that these players know and rely on them to be there.

“It’s the comfort that they know that we are there and that they care for us as much, if not more, than we care about them,” Goss said. “They literally do, I believe that with all my heart. I got sick with the flu and had to miss a basketball game last year and that hurt them, but they were concerned. They told me to take care of myself. That means a lot that that they realize when your not there.”

The satisfaction of being a fan is found in the impact their presence makes on the players.

“It’s when they come back and say ‘thank you, if it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be where I am at today and thank you for believing and not giving up on me,’” Minton said.

In the end after all the time spent and after the ever increasing mileage gained on long road trips, for these women it’s more than worth it.

“Either way we are the ones that wait around until it’s all over. Even on road trips we wait for them until they come out of the locker room. We are there to tell them how great they did or to tell them they will do better next week if they didn’t do so well,” Defee said. “We try to point out the good things they do even if they don’t win.

“It’s not something that was just important to me, it’s something that is meant to be. It’s not something you make happen, it just happens.