Marist sports have one huge problem in common, and it has nothing to do with the teams and their performance. This past year, the Marist student section seems to have taken a break from its
usually rowdy tendencies, especially at our basketball games.

While student attendance at football games were par, this basketball season has been an all time low for our Redhawk Rowdies. The most recent example of our lonely student section was the Battle of Pulaski at Brother Rice, where the Marist student section was lacking in attendance and energy.

The RedHawks went down late in the first quarter, and seemed shocked by Rice’s energy and speed, and not to mention the pressure their student section was putting on us. Our loss that night is a clear example of how support from a student section can greatly contribute to a win.

Marist football and hockey player Michael McDonnell (Jr) says, “A good crowd can turn a game around in a heartbeat. It’s also a lot of fun to play with a crazy crowd.”

Packing our student section will not only improve the performance of our teams, but make games a more exiting experience for the fans. Marist will look better as a whole and show how we are not only a school, but a community.

According to my data, about only 31 percent of students this year have attended at least one basketball game, and 80 percent have attended a football game. While this data for the football
games are very good, we are obviously still lacking at basketball games.

In previous years, attendance, especially at basketball games, was never a problem. It would be commonplace to see our gym packed with students in the bleachers and on the stage cheering on our team. All it takes is a little bit of effort, school spirit, and leadership to make a change.

One way we can get students to our games is by advertising better. Announcements after school about all our sports events should be the first action to get people to our games. A wrap up of who won games and notable performances from players should also be included during announcements in the morning.

Another way to improve our student section is to set up a club-like group where students sign up for notifications or use a communication app to send out game times and locations. This could help students easily communicate themes, or plan rides with each other. If created and advertised by our student council, I feel plenty of students would join to make a great group of Rowdies.

This may be a lot, but I feel like it is worth a shot as it can change our student section back into the rowdy, fun atmosphere that we were once known to have.