Brooke Martin: Lifelong Superfan

When the Terps take the field on Saturday for their clash against Indiana, Brooke Martin will be in the stands, but that’s nothing new to the Maryland superfan.

Martin simply doesn’t miss home games. She rarely has and doesn’t plan to moving forward.

The 25-year-old Martin isn’t from Maryland, but she’s been to more games in College Park than most native Marylanders.

Her father, Shawn Martin, boasts to others about how she’s only missed 10 home games since his daughter was born in 2000, but Martin estimates the total might be closer to 15. Still, Martin has spent enough time at SECU Stadium to call it a second home.

“Maryland fans have a lot of love for their state,” Martin said. “We take so much pride in the DMV area, and I think it adds a layer to the fandom.”

The DMV includes Falls Church, Virginia, where Martin was raised. Her father, a proud Terp alumni, engrained Martin’s rooting interest from a young age.

“He made me like this,” she said. “I get my passion for the Terps from him.”

She’s been attending games alongside her family for decades. Her first game, fittingly enough, was the Terps’ homecoming game in 2000. Her family got season tickets in 2001 when Ralph Friedgen was hired and the rest has been history.

“My sister actually rebelled against the Terps growing up, rooting for an ACC rival just to make us mad,” Martin said with a chuckle. “Eventually she came around, and now she goes to as many games as she can.”

If missing more than a dozen games in a century is the new standard for rebellion, College Park must have been experiencing a full-on revolution for the past 25 years.

“I haven’t missed a game in three years,” Martin said. “And I hadn’t missed a game for three years before that. Nowadays, I only miss a game every couple years when I have to.”

It takes something special to pull Martin away from SECU Stadium. Since starting at Maryland in 2018 she’s missed two games for important events like a cousin’s wedding or the Washington Nationals’ World Series parade in 2019.

She played soccer growing up, but even had to adjust that hobby to fit with her love of the Terps.

“I actually switched to travel soccer because they played on Sundays, and my dad didn’t want to keep missing Maryland games on Saturdays,” Martin said.

Martin graduated from the University of Maryland in 2022 with a bachelor’s degrees in marketing and operations management and business analytics. During her time in College Park, her mission of attending games was never easier.

“When I was in college, I was the vice president of The Pride, the student fan organization,” Martin said. “I had a lot of fun working alongside the athletic department to try and get students engaged across all of our sports.”

She’s a fan of the wideouts. Her two all-time favorite Terps are Stefon Diggs and Torrey Smith, but she’s enjoying seeing the current local guys play for their home state.

“There is such great talent in this area, whether it’s football or basketball,” Martin said. “Getting people to be able to see what we have here in College Park that and stay home and buy into it is really special. If everybody stayed home, we would be really great.”

Martin’s been around for the highs and lows that any program experiences in 25 years, but she’s loved every minute of it.

“When we beat USC last year and rushed the field, that was a lot of fun,” Martin said. “I’ve been able to see a lot of great moments. There’s some great wins and some tough losses, and I make the most of all of it.”

Now, she’s experiencing the resurgence of Maryland football and the efforts that Barry P. Gossett Director of Athletics Jim Smith and his staff are making to enhance the gameday experience.

“I love that Smith’s always asking what they can do to make the fan experience better,” Martin said. “In my professional personal life, I work in customer experience, so I really appreciate that, asking your fan base what can go better and actually making that change. I think it’s really admirable.”

She got to experience the Terps’ sold-out crowd when Maryland took on Washington earlier this season. It was a sight for sore eyes to see Terp fans show up in abounding numbers.

“It was mostly red and they were very into the game,” Martin said. “It was rewarding in a way. I think every Maryland fan, whether you’re a crazy fan like me or a casual fan, it’s such a great experience to be at the games. The players need all the support they can get. The more the merrier!”

The fanbase is growing. The attention paid to Maryland football is expanding. People are taking notice of what’s happening in College Park and Martin is optimistic that it’ll continue to bring fans to games.

“I think it’s getting better,” she said. “Our young talent is exciting to watch. It was hard for a while there. There were a lot of games where my dad and I would stay until the very end and people would say ‘well, it’s just gonna be you and the coach there. No one else is at this game anymore.’ But, I think people are starting to buy in more to the idea of if we want to be good at football, we need fans. So you’ve got to show up and impact the game. You’ve got to be dedicated.”

There may not be a better role model for dedication than Martin herself. She’ll be back again this weekend, continuing her almost habitual tradition of cheering on her Terps.