Picture this: you are an athlete who has worked for nearly a decade to make it to the collegiate level in your sport. You’ve faced many highs and lows that have shaped you into the athlete you are today.
And then, all your work pays off, and you begin receiving offers from different colleges interested in you joining their teams.
You commit to a school, go through training camp, and finally make it to your first game. But when you walk out of the locker room, you are surprised to see the lack of students who came to watch your team play.
This is an experience some athletes face when they come to Taylor. They realize after the first few games that fan attendance won’t be as high as it was in high school. Of course, this varies depending on the specific game or even sport being played, but for the most part, Taylor games have above-average attendance at best.
A Taylor basketball game might offer a noticeably different atmosphere than a typical Indiana high school matchup. On one hand, less than half the seats are filled and sometimes fans may be disengaged. The game doesn’t feel like a main event.
On the other hand, students and fans from the surrounding area pack the gym; the energy is palpable, and the athletes feel ready to perform.
“It’s a lot different than what my experience was in high school,” Ryan Vetor, a freshman exercise science major at Taylor, said. “Our basketball tickets would sell out within ten minutes. I feel like some intramural games here have more fans than some Taylor home games.”
The reason seems to lie in students' interests.This year, there are approximately 2,000 students enrolled and living on campus at Taylor, according to www.univstats.com. So why don’t more students attend home games?
Multiple factors play into this question. Some students may not enjoy sports, so they wouldn’t feel the desire to go out of their way to watch a game at Taylor. College is also a busy time of life; other students may simply not have the time.
But there is something special about supporting your college’s sports teams and showing school spirit. Taylor is a small school, and athletes are often friends with many people across campus. Showing support and bringing energy to games can make a huge impact.
“I feel like with how highly community is encouraged at Taylor, we should have a higher attendance of sporting events,” Logan Conant, a sophomore marketing major, said.
Conant said he makes an effort to attend as many football, basketball, softball and baseball games as he can. But there is a reason he singled out those specific sports.
“I only go to the sports where I know people on the team,” he said.
This is another mindset shared across campus. People want to watch a sport they either enjoy or with players they know.
There is a solution to this. Students can get groups together to start attending games. This makes the game more enjoyable, even if they don’t know anyone on the team or understand the sport.
The more people who attend these events, the more energetic the atmosphere. That energy is what makes a game fun.
There is a reason Silent Night is the most anticipated sports event on campus. It has the highest turnout and the most energy. Students on campus should be shooting to make every game an event to look forward to, for both the fans and the athletes.
Athletes at Taylor work hard on their craft. Sometimes, their sport can feel like a full-time job on top of school. As students, we should support the work they’ve put in and give them the atmosphere they deserve, one that is lively and excited.
