Last Friday night, I found myself amongst a throng of Highland Park High School students, cheering as their team ran in their first touchdown. But there was something wrong. I looked around to see that I was one of the few, the very few, people actually standing and cheering. I found it strange that I, a New Trier High School student, was cheering louder than majority of the students in the crowd. I joked with my HPHS friends that I had more spirit than they did and I didn't even go to their school. But then it dawned on me how hard it really is to find school spirit lately, anywhere. Highland Park isn't the only school where spirit can't be found. New Trier has "Blue and Green Fridays", where students are urged to dress in all blue and green to support our many different sports teams. I know one girl who makes an effort to wear blue and green every Friday, and every other person who does wear those colors, claims to have done it by accident. Most people would argue that there is plenty of spirit though. It is true, New Trier football games are crowded with students and fans all socializing while they watch their high school go for the win, and everyone gets extremely excited at every opportunity to pull ahead of the other team, but only at these events. How many students will follow their teams on away games? How many people wake up on Friday, remember that they should wear something blue or something green, and just pretend to have forgotten? I'm as guilty as everyone else, and it is interesting to realize that high school pride doesn't seem to be dished out by the pounds anymore. Its seems to be dripped out whenever it is convenient. What happened to make us forget we are trevians? I was standing as I screamed for Highland Park High school as they ran in another touchdown, and I heard a voice from behind me. I turned around and a boy, probably a sophomore, was sitting there. "Um, we," he said with a hint of cockiness as he waved to his surrounding friends, "would really appreciate it if you all would sit down." I couldn't believe it! Sit down? At a football game?! But then I though of myself and all the lazy students at New Trier games, and of all the students who only go to the games to stand on the sidelines and talk. This wasn't as weird as I was making it out to be, I realized. Still, I wasn't gonna let him put a damper on my wanna-be-a-spirited-Highland-Park-High-School-student parade. I looked at him and said, "Um we," making a similar gesture as his to my group of friends, "would really appreciate it if you all would stand up." Today, when so many students across the north shore are too busy to think of their local sports team, and probably a little embarrassed to show up to school as the only super crazy, colorful fan of their high school, I think it is time for all of us to break the habit of only being fans when we want to be, and to not only to be fans when the team is actually winning. To start showing how proud we are of our schools, whether it's HPHS, GBS, or NTHS, and to not be afraid to let those colors shine.
1 comment:
I compleatly agree with you about our school and others like us not showing our spirit. I am extreamly guilty of not showing enough school spirit and actualy I have attended more football games in Carmel Indiana than New Trier in my entire High school experiance. There is a HUGE differance between the Carmel high school football(indiana's State champs) and New Trier other than there impressive record. When i went to my first game in indian the frist thing I noticed was the amount of people. they didn't just have a football feild they had a football statum there where so many people there it took us 15mins to find seats. It was over whelming how much gold and blue(the schools colors) there was. As I sat there watching the game all i wanted was to go home and have the same experiance at new trier but I dont think that will ever happen until people stop feeling embaresed about cheering for there school.
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