It’s fourth quarter; the Hounds are down by one with ten seconds left on the clock. The team is tense, eyeing the clock and watching their worn out opponents stepping back onto the court. It’s the Hounds ball; it’s put back in play. The clock is running down; a quick pass, she’s open, the ball goes up, she sinks it into the net, and the crowd goes…well there is no crowd; the stands are silent.
Playing both a boys’ and girls’ sport (football and basketball) has given me an interesting perspective when it comes to game atmospheres.
I’ve seen stands full of screaming fans. I’ve also seen empty ones. While it is true that during some football games the student section is nearly empty, it does not occur nearly as often as it does during girls’ basketball season.
This seems to be universally true for CHS athletics. There is no denying that boys’ sports get far more attention than the girls’ teams.
Some may argue that girls’ sports are just not as exciting. However, I think the crowd is in control of making a game exciting. If there were groups like the Clayton Crazies, a group of students who lead chants during the boys’ basketball games, for every sport the atmosphere of games would be far more exciting for members of the crowd as well as the players themselves.
The Clayton Crazies are a prime example of the impact a crowd can have on the game atmosphere.
They are able to get the rest of the crowd excited and in turn pump up the players on the court.
During my time playing basketball, very rarely has there been a crowd at the games. However, when a few students attended and were cheering for our team, it truly changed my mentality going into the game. It made me want to do better. While self-motivation is important, having someone in the crowd gives you even more to play for.
Perhaps it’s not just a question about how exciting the games are; perhaps it’s simply just about school spirit. It seems to me that very few people, aside from those on the team, are truly concerned about how well CHS athletic teams perform.
The term “home field advantage” loses its meaning when applied to CHS sports; the advantage of it being that more of our fans can come out and support the team.
But how can we consider it home field when our opponent’s fans far outnumber our own fans?
The most gruesome case of this for girls’ sports occurs during Clayton and Ladue games. Considering that Ladue is our school rival, you would expect everyone to come out to the games to not only support our athletes, but to also out-cheer Ladue in the stands.
Yet, it seems that not even a rival game can fill the stands at girls’ sport games. In fact, only when the girls’ basketball game vs. Ladue was ending did people start to show up because the boys’ game which followed.
As an athlete I encourage and hope that all students would try to attend at least home games to support their fellow students as they fight to represent our school.