After a State Championship appearance last season and great support from the Saint Ignatius student body, the lack of support in the underclassmen student section was less than ideal, at this season’s opening football game.
The varsity football team started their season off brilliantly with a convincing win versus St. Patrick’s. The Wolfpack dominated the second half, controlling both sides of the ball en route to a 37-20 win. However, the seniors and juniors were lacking support from their underclassman in the stands as there was a lack of intrigue towards the game. Senior offensive tackle, Teddy Korte, said, “As a team we work really hard to represent the school on the field…we would like to receive support from the students, specifically the freshman and sophomores, that reflects the work we put in.” Korte commented about the seniors and juniors fan participation, “They were great. We could really hear some of our friends and classmates cheering us on from the sidelines, but when nearly half the student body isn’t participating, it’s hard to feel that same energy as years past.” Senior running back Will Barnett said, “it was odd to me because I looked over and saw a bunch of freshmen and sophomores on the side of the student section. None of them seemed to be in the stands or interested in the game at all, which is something I haven’t seen in other years.”
Underclassmen did have their own reasons for not paying attention during the game. Freshman Elliott Bauling said, “the first football game was a lot of fun for us as a class. As freshmen, we don’t know everyone yet and are still getting to meet new people. We used the football game to talk to people and hangout with our friends because we want to build friendships for the next four years.”
So, why can’t the freshman socialize in the stands while supporting their football team at the same time? “It’s easier to move around behind the bleachers and talk to new people versus just standing in the same spot with the same few people.” Freshman Sienna Rezza chimed in, saying, “We really don’t care about the football game… we don’t know any of the players in the game so instead we use the time together at the game to talk to each other and hangout.”
So, why do the freshmen not cheer at football games? Sounds like they care more about meeting new friends than the team. It will be up to the upperclassmen to push for increased support of the football team when Ignatius hosts Marist for their upcoming homecoming game.