Latin won the girls Blue Out game before the game even started. As I was warming up before the game, I kept looking at the clock, assuring myself that people would come before tipoff. However, I was mistaken.  

At tipoff, there were eight junior girls in the student section. It’s incredibly painful to watch as the starting lineup is being called and the only thing you can hear is the high-fives leading up to it. The fact that there were more Latin band players on our side than Parker students sums it up.

The people that did come were sitting the majority of the game and weren’t really engaged. As I turned my head to Latin’s side, supporters packed the stands. The student section was nearly full and was cheering loudly.

I then assured myself that everyone would come for the second half, but again, I was mistaken. Only about fifteen freshmen along with handfuls of sophomores, seniors, and the boys basketball team trickled in. 

It’s safe to say that Parker’s so-called “student section” remained a quiet void for the entirety of the game while Latin’s side was full of cheering people. 

My initial reaction to this was confusion. Many more people came to the girls White Out game when we played Mather than this, so I still fail to understand why no one came to our rivalry game. 

Not only was there a lack of support in the student section, but our own photographer didn’t come until the fourth quarter. Excited to see action shots of my team playing, disappointed is an understatement as I scrolled through the photos from the game with there being 481 pictures of the boys and only 40 of the girls: the first photo timestamped at 7:28pm, an hour and a half after our game started.

One of the reasons sports are fun to play is because a crowd is watching you and giving you extra motivation to play well. If anyone has played a sport before, you know that the crowd acts as the “sixth player.” It’s disheartening when we make a good play or when I make a shot, and the parents and bench are the only ones I hear cheering. I honestly think that the score would have been closer if more people had shown out.

I understand that our team isn’t as “skilled” as Latin’s girls team, but I don’t see that as a reason not to come.  For years, people showed out to these games even as Parker got blown out by Latin. The only difference was that they were boys. 

Not knowing about the game is an unacceptable excuse. As a team, we’ve done everything to get people to come. We posted on Instagram with it reaching 90 likes, leaving me curious as to why people “liked” it if they weren’t going to come. We announced the game to the whole school in Morning Ex and sent eight reminder emails to everyone. The only thing that seems to be missing is our gender.

I guess I want some clarity from the student body.  On a Friday night, is it really that difficult to even come to the second half of your girls basketball team playing your rival?

If it is, I’d just like to know why as I sit with the agitating question: where is everyone?