Lights illuminate football fields a little more on Friday nights. The community gathers to watch their football team take the field and represent the school that brings them all together. The energy is high, cheers echo throughout the town as the team storms their way down the field. Now, the chants begin. From, “You can’t do that,” to, “I believe,” the students carry the pride of their schools in their chants.
However, as the game continues, a chant begins that may seem to cross the line. The section of rowdy students begin a chant that includes the name of a family member of the opposing team’s star player. The opposing player is visibly upset and shortly after, the student who starts the chant is removed from the game. Did they deserve that punishment? Is there a line between showing student pride and showing immaturity? As far as MCHS and the entirety of the Fox Valley Conference goes, the line is necessary.
The use of chants has been incorporated in student sections since the beginning of high school athletics. The chants display the pride of the school’s students. They unite the players with their peers through the common desire of being superior to the opposing school. However, as students continue to be encouraged by administration to show up to games and support their team, students will find different or more creative ways to give their team the upper-hand.
Although chants directed at opposing teams or specific players on those teams aren’t new, there will always come a point in which these chants alter the image of the school. Chants that highlight a player’s mistake or a player’s personal life can severely change the trajectory of the game. If a player isn’t in the right headspace to compete, they won’t be able to perform to their best capabilities and that shouldn’t be allowed to happen. The actions of the students in the student section impact the image the students and administration have to the public eye. Students are tasked with representing themselves, their teachers and the rest of their school.
“With all of the leadership training opportunities we have here at MCHS, we expect a lot from our student sections,” MCHS Upper Campus principal Greg Eiserman says. “Our ‘Warrior Nation’ leaders should be out in front modeling the positive support for our team that we expect.”
“Students represent our school,” MCHS athletic director Chris Madson says. “That means leading with pride, showing respect and setting the tone for what Warrior spirit looks like.”
The amount of pride displayed through the student section is completely dependent on MCHS’s Warrior Nation members. Warrior Nation Council is a leadership program at MCHS that is designed to put students in leadership positions in order to develop character and collaboration skills. Some of the decisions this club makes includes the theme for sports games and homecoming.
As administration continues to define, “the line,” students are now tasked with creating a positive and respectful, yet rowdy and energetic atmosphere within the student section. Brody Lidbury, a junior a part of Warrior Nation at MCHS, “I feel a lot of responsibility. I feel like if I start to become a bad influence, it’s gonna reflect very negatively on not only the student section, but the school as a whole.”
Students who oppose the rules, although the reason for their disagreement can vary, most arguments center around a very specific aspect of the game. The tension. Many students believe that a game is significantly less interesting without tension. In many instances, this tension is created through off the field storylines. However, in some cases, this tension can be created through student sections. Students, including senior student section leader Gavin Larose, believe that the restrictions make it much harder to keep the game interesting.
“Its not necessarily fair, to be completely honest,” Larose says. “[Us students] are there to be rowdy and support our players just as much as they are out there for us.”
Although this argument does have some noteworthy points, the rules don’t completely prevent the ability to enjoy spectating the game. Students can show every ounce of support they can for their team, without belittling the opposition. High school athletics should be built upon the idea of sustaining the fun in the games that high school students grew up loving, not using offensive tactics to get the upper-hand over the competition.
Friday night has arrived and students begin to file into the respective bleachers. The anticipation amongst the audience is through the roof. The cheers are deafening, the players are getting in the zone, and the community is gathered to enjoy the sport they all love so much. The chants are respectful, and the sportsmanship gives both teams the ability to compete for the right to state they are the better team. At the end of the night, the students and every other fan in attendance can go home, excited to do the same thing the next week. This is how high school athletic events should be enjoyed.