Winning a National Championship in football at Tennessee is no small feat. So as new Athletic Director Robert “Bobby” Starks begins his tenure at Parker, hopes are high that he can translate some of his own success into ours.

Starks helped his team win a National Championship in 1998 in front of about 75,000 screaming fans decked out in UT orange and white. The hype of the fans helped carry the team to win the most coveted trophy in college football.

Each year at Parker’s homecoming games, the field is lined with orange cones and rope to serve as a barricade between fans and the game. The crowd is not allowed to stand anywhere near the event happening on the field, and with homecoming being one of the most popular games, the sideline gets overcrowded. This needs to be fixed. The administration is too concerned with crowd control and not the game. It should be the other way around.

In past years when we have won homecoming, our fans were allowed to rush the field and celebrate with the team. The administration has taken this too away from the fans. Starks knows the feeling of rushing the field all too well. Not everybody plays Southeastern Conference (SEC) football at a powerhouse school and wins the National Championship. Rivalry games and bowl wins constitute rushing the field at Tennessee, and it should be no different for us. Hopefully Starks can bring some of that big school atmosphere to Parker.

A few years ago, when the boys’ varsity soccer team was playing Latin in a huge match, a couple of fans brought Vuvuzelas to blow from the crowd. These students were kicked out of the game, and the noise-makers were thrown into the trash. That is exactly something that should not happen.

In fact, it should be just the opposite: Vuvuzelas and other fan paraphernalia should be encouraged. Teams love when fans are passionate, so why are the higher-ups discouraging it? The athletes put in work during two-a-day practices during preseason so they look good on the field during the regular season. They deserve our recognition.

Because of our recent progress in boys’ soccer, we have moved up from Class 1A to 2A. That means that we have been better in recent years than ever before, and the Illinois High School Association is recognizing us for it. It also means we play harder teams from schools that are more than double our size — but we are there because we are at a level that can compete with them.

Although our athletes can compete, our fans cannot.

Latin dominates the stands at our own home turf. They control two-thirds of the bleachers, while our fans are the minority. We need people there too. Sports can unify a school, a city, or anything.

Sports are where people overcome differences for a greater goal. Parker prides itself on being a closely-knit community, but when it comes to sports, it appears to be just the opposite. It can seem like nobody cares about sports, and even the administration does not do anything.

We spend so much time and money to promote and organize these games, but we do nothing to hype them up. This needs to change.

It falls on admin’s shoulders to promote our sports, and they do little about it. They do not hype up the games. There are no giveaways. No raffles. Nothing. Starks has a chance to change that, and he can. We want the big school spirit, just in a little way.

There was one time when the admin did do a giveaway, and it was a major success. It occurred at the DePaul basketball game a few years ago: the first 50 students to arrive received free rally towels. It was a major triumph. The towels were a huge hit and were waved nonstop throughout the game. It is hard to see why the administration was too blind to see that people loved the towels, but now Starks can see that.

The lack of Parker merchandise also discourages school spirit. Yes, we have water bottles and blankets, but not real merchandise. We don’t have shirts that say “Parker Soccer” or “Parker Basketball,” and students would be willing to purchase these items if they were made. Two years ago the soccer team had to put their own money towards making and buying shirts  just so they could look like a unified team. The students pooled their money for shirts, clearly showing that people are willing to buy merchandise.

Latin has an online spirit store that has six pages of just sweatshirts. After that it is possible to customize a sweatshirt with the many different logos the school has. Now that’s just sweatshirts. They have everything, ranging from your everyday t-shirt to socks, even hats and gloves. On top of all of that, they have a spirit store INSIDE their school. That’s right, you can buy spirit wear on any given day of the week. You don’t have to wait for it come in the mail and deal with that hassle.

If merchandise were made, it would not only unify the look of the team, but it would also increase school spirit. How are we supposed to have school spirit when we don’t even sell anything that says “Parker” on it? Oh, sorry, I forgot, I’m supposed to wear that zip-up sweatshirt my mom bought me in fourth grade that is two sizes too small.

Now that we are playing in 2A, Parker needs everybody cheering in navy and white. As our school continues to grow in sports and become more recognized, fans  need to be in Parker gear to match.

We have been to State for soccer so many times in recent years that we have moved up a class. We win Regionals and compete for Sectionals in just about everything. We need our school’s support for our sports. Our new AD, Bobby Starks, can help with this but he needs your help. Come on, Parker, show up and show out!