Out of the 112 State championships this school has earned in athletics, 106 come from sports besides football. But ask yourself: When was the last time you attended a sporting event that wasn’t football?
The men’s tennis team has a chance to be one of, if not the, greatest tennis team Indiana has ever seen, looking to defend its State title this season. The women’s cross-country team placed seventh in the nation last year and is poised to defend its State title this year. The women’s swimming and diving team has won 25 straight State titles. According to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, Carmel has the best women’s soccer team in the entire nation. However, I highly doubt that many of the students at CHS have attended any of these great teams’ games or meets.
With the amount of students at this school, the bleachers at every sporting event should be full. Administrators and student leaders talk about how much school spirit we have, but after football season, a vast amount of that spirit goes away. Look in the stands at men’s or women’s soccer games, and you’ll be hard pressed to find more than 10 students in the stands. These teams all contribute to Carmel’s great sports history; they deserve to be recognized by the student body.
Even this year, attendance at basketball games was not nearly what it used to or should be. The way games used to be, if you were not at the game a half an hour early, you would not be able to find a seat. The atmosphere was electric. Now? Students and parents wander in at halftime to find a gym that is only halfway full.
Sports teams feed off the energy from fans. Any athlete will tell you that there is no better feeling than when you make a great play and look up to hear people cheering for you. However, for most athletes, these fans are not their classmates. That is not how it should work. After scoring a goal, a soccer player should be able to look into the stands to find them packed with students screaming for him, chanting his name. A cross-country runner should be able to hear his classmates cheering during the grueling last stretch of a race. A swimmer deserves the chance to hear students cheering his name as he is called to step onto the podium.
The next time a tennis player makes a great play on his home court, there should be a roar coming from the student section. A volleyball player should hear a cheer as she finishes the match with an ace. When the buzzer sounds at the end of a home basketball game, the gym should shake with the sound of screaming students.
These less popular sports among the students account for most of the State titles at this school. These sports deserve more attendance from our student body.
And athletes, this goes for you, too. If you want your peers to come support you, you should go support them first. Tennis players, go watch a soccer game. Soccer players, go to a volleyball match. To get the support from our athletes, you are probably going to have to show that you care about other sports too. I bet you’ll be surprised at how much fun you can have watching your classmates succeed.
Just imagine, a school where every single sporting event has the stands packed with students. No other school has close to the amount of students as we have, so we should show that we have more spirit than any other school.
I’m not saying that people shouldn’t go to football games. Rather, the atmosphere at all sporting events should be as electric as the atmosphere during a home football game.
You have your first chance tonight. There is a home women’s soccer game against North Central at 5:30 p.m., followed by a men’s soccer game at 7:30 p.m. Spend an hour and a half away from homework and just have a good time with your friends while watching your classmates succeed. And I expect the crowd to be the craziest it has ever been for the Homecoming football game Friday against Lawrence North. Prove me wrong CHS; show me that students do attend sporting events besides football games.