With football season coming to an end, I think it’s time to address the amount of attention football gets. While many people enjoy football, I’m not a huge fan. Sure, I go to football games, and while it’s cool to support our team, it’s the atmosphere that the game generates that makes me want to go. The atmosphere makes football games such an integral part of the high school experience for many, including me.

However, something that I wish to see is for other sports to get the same recognition that football does. I am not saying that football isn’t important; rather, I am saying that I want to be excited about other sports games in a similar way. I want to be in the same atmosphere that football games provide. At football games, the crowd is rowdy yet civil, supportive but not cocky and above all, filled with a variety of people who each bring a different energy. I want the other teams to feel seen and supported with the same enthusiasm and buzz that football generates.

When I go to games, I want a lot of people to be there. When there is a crowd, there is a new and exciting feeling that a game gets. I want this feeling at all of the events. This was especially true when I went to watch the varsity boys basketball team play against our rival Niles North last year. That game was the most exciting game I have ever been to in my life. A key part of that was that there were so many people who turned up and supported our team. In the contest gym, you could feel the energy all around, and most of all, when the team went into overtime three times. Even though we lost, I felt something that day that I wish could be felt at more than just mainstream sports games.

In order to increase the amount of spectators, it is up to the Niles West community to generate interest. When people talk, it gets others excited for what is going to happen during the games. For this to happen, people, like administrators, need to do more to get people talking about upcoming games that aren’t just football.  For example, when bowler Ryan Lueker went to state last year, we received an email from Athletics Director Dana Krilich but not any other correspondence. When the Girls and Boys Cross Country Teams advanced to state this year, we again received an email from Krilich, but again, no other correspondence showed support.

On the other hand, Principal Jeremy E. Christian sent out an email on Oct. 31 showing support for the football team going up against Lincoln-Way East in the playoffs.

“I don’t care what their record is—I BELIEVE in our team! Remember, Believing is the first step toward any victory. Believe in each other, believe in your hard work, and believe that we are stronger together,” Christian said.

I think it is great to support the football team, but if you are going to show support for a specific sport, you should show the same support for all of the others. All sports deserve the same amount of recognition, and there needs to be ways to show this enthusiasm that are equal.

I want to be there when the volleyball team defeats our rivals. I want to be there when the swim and dive team sets new records. I want to be there when cross-country runners set new personal records. I want to be there for as much as I can. Football, especially at our school, gets a lot of glory–and rightly so. Yes, football and its players deserve recognition, but so does every other sport.  At our school, many sports live in football’s shadow. With the administration’s support, it’s now up to us, the students, to show up more to support our peer athletes.