“Fired up! Ready to go!” the crowd chanted anxiously, and the coliseum filled with noise, devotion and love as rock ‘n’ roll icon Bruce Springsteen took the stage at Hilton Coliseum to perform his songs for President Barack Obama’s campaign.

Obama for America’s week-long event, known as Campus Takeover, featured Springsteen in Parma, Ohio and in Ames. The event was funded by Obama for America, and Springsteen, the ISU Jazz Combo, and speakers Susan Dvorsky and Kaylee Weber gave speeches.

The doors opened at 1 p.m. to what began as a small audience, taking their seats in the front. Within an hour, the stadium filled with fans and Obama supporters.

ISU students Tim Marquis, Gene Poletto, Wesley Rondinelli and Kevin Smalley all came early to the event, wearing headbands like Springsteen would. The students described the event as “once in a lifetime” and worth skipping class for.

Many attendees of the rally, though, seemed to not be interested in the Obama aspect of the show, but rather Springsteen himself.

Sean Salzer, junior in mechanical engineering, and Chris Vierck, sophomore in animal science, both said they “came for the music,” with Vierck saying he “doesn’t want to sit through the political side.”

John Olsen, another Springsteen fan, was more interested in the political aspect, and even wanted to volunteer for the event upon entering the doors.

“I came here early hoping I could volunteer,” Olsen said. “But I’m here to enjoy Bruce [Springsteen] and support the president.”

Olsen felt there was a deeper message to the rally than just fans and students going to see a rock ‘n’ roll icon, and he said he is “worried about the youth” due to “the youth having a lack of interest in politics.”

The event started with a video showing Obama’s struggles and successes as president. The crowd did pay attention to the video, applauding at the scenes mentioning the death of Osama Bin Laden and the signing of the Fair Pay Act.

After the video, attendees were treated to a performance from the ISU Jazz Combo group. The band played a few songs and gained applause from the audience. The bassist of the group, Spencer Bell, said the group took the performance as a “chance of a lifetime” to perform on the same stage just before Springsteen. Bell described performing to such a large crowd as nerve-wracking, but something he was used to.

Susan Dvorsky, chairwoman for the Iowa Democratic Party, took the stage after the jazz band to get the crowd amped up for voting.

“So much is at stake with this … For the past two years, we’ve been preparing,” Dvorsky said. “It is working, we’re ready to go.”

After a short speech from Kaylee Weber, junior in advertising, and another video, it was time for Springsteen to come on stage.

The crowd jumped, ran to the stage, and Springsteen screamed, “Fire it up! Ready to go!” The crowd cheered and the performance began. The audience sang every word, and sometimes even got comments from Springsteen like “good job,” or “that was terrible,” with a laugh from the crowd. In between songs, Springsteen would talk about the importance of voting, his belief in Obama and some of the cultural background behind his songs.

Even though Springsteen performed a short half-hour set, the crowd enjoyed every second of it. The crowd sang, cheered and rooted “Bruce” throughout the afternoon.

The show was free for all those who had an admission ticket, and the Obama for America Ames office said 3,500 ISU students and Iowa residents participated.

“All types of people were there. Young, old. They came from Ames and even far away,” said the Obama for America — Iowa group, calling the rally a great success.