Fans, both students and parents, lined the yellow barriers along Parker’s field on Homecoming Saturday in what they expected to be two fun games to watch. Field Hockey at 1:00 p.m., Soccer at 2:30 p.m. It was a perfect double header bound to be filled with excitement. But what about that game in the gym scheduled to start at 11:00? 

The volleyball game. Historically forgotten about in the midst of the Saturday Homecoming festivities, the game played in the Main Gym hardly receives any fans. However, this year, Gabe Rothschild and I (members of the SAC committee), were at school already at the time of the game and decided to spread the word and go to the game. About 20-30 student fans showed up to the volleyball game, and to the players’ surprise, the fans had created a student section in the gym.

In the second game played, we were all on our feet doing cheers to support the team, and yelling obnoxiously at each spike the Parker team threw down. It was an amazing experience, and it’s unfortunate that it is overshadowed by Field Hockey and Soccer. If just 20-30 fans transformed the atmosphere of the Volleyball game so easily, it should be easy to do so at other sports as well.

Now I understand that a sport like Volleyball has fewer people on the team, therefore a lower total number of friends will be in the stands compared to sports like Field Hockey or Soccer which have 30+ kids on the team. That obviously calls for a bigger crowd because there are more people that a fan knows when they watch the game. But just because a team doesn’t have your friends on it, doesn’t mean you can’t go and still have a fun time. We are all classmates and connected in some way, so not being super close with someone should not stop you from attending a game and cheering them on.

The soccer Homecoming game had the students packed in tight like sardines, not being able to turn our bodies left or right. The experience of being together with our peers watching the team play was electrifying, especially when Senior Ryan Humphrey scored our first goal and we all stormed the field.

I understand Homecoming is once a year, and it’s on the weekend, but what is stopping students from creating smaller scale experiences like this at any sports game? Why do we only show up for Homecoming? Why is it that when our friends or even just our peers participate in sports games after school that maybe three or four people show up to them? I can ask any person in the high school to show up to a game, and if they say no, when I ask the reasoning it’s almost always that they want to get home and do their homework.

Athletes themselves don’t get home until 8:30 p.m. some nights, and the student who doesn’t participate in an after school activity such as Parker sports typically gets home between 3:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. to begin homework. Parker students on average go to bed anywhere between 10:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. from what I have observed, and that makes me think that getting home at 5:30 p.m. – 6 p.m. to stay for a game vs 3:30 p.m. – 4 p.m. and going home right after school is definitely worth the experience. Yes, you lose an hour-hour and a half of potential homework time, but the rewarding experience of cheering on your classmates alongside your other classmates is well worth the time. 

We, students at Parker, should attend the games for the sake of the athletes who work so hard to get on that stage, but the reality is no one does. A home game with three student fans versus a home game with 20 is a totally different game! 

A few weeks ago, I heard about the Parker soccer team playing North Shore Country Day on a Friday after school, so I thought without a doubt many people would show up. I tried my best to advertise it, spreading the word throughout my grade about the game. This was a big conference game, and although I don’t follow soccer or the soccer team, I understood that this meant a lot to the players. I got a good amount of people to come, but I was glad to see when I got there that about 12 more were already sitting in the stands. 

Though the game was long and went into two overtimes, the atmosphere that the students created just five feet from the sideline clearly made a difference. The players could hear the fans yelling and cheering them on, and that is an added boost for an athlete in the arena. 

About 88 minutes into the game, Daniel Mansueto passed the ball to Oliver Manilow for a one on one versus the goalie, and he put the ball into the back of the net. With just two minutes left, we took the lead and students were jumping and running onto the field with excitement (the refs didn’t like that). After the game, students ran onto the field to congratulate the players on the long game and exciting victory.

Staying for OT and having that sort of an experience is something that students don’t forget. I know some people left at the start of overtime, and the people who stayed made them regret it. Supporting our fellow student athletes should be something we do for all sports and all genders. 

On the contrary, some athletes prefer to play without many fans watching to avoid pressure. That is completely acceptable and understandable, and I think we as fans should listen to the players’ choices. If players on a team are advertising a game all week, they want as many people to go as possible. From my experience, most athletes end up finding the experience of playing with the added adrenalin because of fans watching much more memorable.

When I play basketball, I feel uplifted when I see people come to the games because they care about the players and not necessarily the team. I’m sure athletes on any team at Parker could say the same.

Last year, the first time I got significant playing time in the White Out game, I was thrown into an experience that I never could have imagined. The difference between a game played in Parker’s gym with only parents watching versus a game played in a college stadium with pretty much two entire high schools watching is massive. Looking around with hundreds of people watching makes me feel like what I am out there doing is important and valued by the community. The hours I spend every week practicing with the team are finally rewarded and acknowledged.

I know not every game can be the White Out game or Homecoming, but little efforts can get them to a similar level. Obviously games are not going to be scheduled at big venues like DePaul other than that one game, but even filling up Parker’s gym makes a huge difference. Being on the floor, turning to the stands to see your friends and classmates supporting you, gives you the added boost. At that Volleyball Homecoming game, the atmosphere was transformed by the students, which gave the players a boost when they made long runs.

Being a fan is all what you make of it. You can choose not to go, you can choose to go and be on your phone, or you can go and be involved.

Lastly, before I send you off with a rah-rah message to get out and support, I wanted to remind everyone about how common it is for students at schools all across Chicago to attend sports games. A lot of schools that have football teams devote their Friday nights to going to the games and being with their friends. It’s a great experience, and although we don’t have football, we can do that for any Friday sporting events. As long as the game is advertised, it could maybe get the attendance of as many people as the White Out or Homecoming games.

I encourage every student in the Upper School to go out of their way to attend a sports game later this year (aside from the White Out games). Boys and girls basketball and girls soccer are the best spectator sports remaining in the year, so get your friends to come out to a game and form a small student section of your own. All it takes is a few people to make a big difference.