With football season in full swing this year at Carmel High School, students cheer not only with shouts and applause from the stands, but also through their spiritwear. This year, Carmel’s five home game themes include the following; tropical, USA, jersey, blue and gold and blackout. The away game themes are wild west, camo, neon, and pink out. 

“Getting ready for a game is so fun knowing everyone will be dressed up and in school spirit.” sophomore Marina Zaky, who has attended every home game since her freshman year, said. 

Sophomore Siddarth “Sid” Chavali said he agreed with Zaky, and said football game themes add to the excitement and bring more people into the game. 

“Dressing up can be fun because it adds to the vibe and creates a certain energy to the games,” Chavali said. “I didn’t love the home game themes this year, but one of the themes I liked for an away game was wild west.” 

Junior Arnav Bhatia said participating in school events is an essential part of the high school experience. 

“Dressing up in school spirit and cheering with all your friends is really engaging and an opportunity to meet new people. [Football fashion] is a really cool way to let students express creativity and engage with one another while supporting the team,” Bhatia said. 

Engaging in school activities may do more than just increase school spirit. According to numerous small-scale studies conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), higher student engagement in school spirit correlates with higher academic achievement as well as a sense of belonging within the school community. 

For her part, Zaky shares Bhatia’s views. 

“I honestly think that to an extent, football games go beyond the sport and are really a way to interact with one another and meet new people. Football season is 100% one of the highlights to every school year,” she says.