Buena is notorious in Ventura for our mediocre, and, honestly, extremely boring, student section. At all of the football games this season, the student section has had no more than four rows filled with students sitting quietly, almost waiting for the game to be over.
Students themselves have a lot of responsibility for the depressing size and excitement of the spirit section. While there are students that go to the games, the majority of them sit quietly or just talk to their friends the entire night instead of cheering for their team and participating in chants.
The “Friday Night Lights” have started to turn into more of a social function than a sporting event, diminishing their original purpose. Students, more recently, have started to show up to the games and sit by the snack bar having conversations rather than watching and supporting their school.
While it seems like it should be fun to hang out with a small group of close friends, it ruins a crucial part of sporting events, especially high school football games, which is uniting a group of people, like a school, with the hope of a win. Usually, schools will put aside their cliques and friend groups, going to the games to be a part of the school’s community and break down social barriers.
Another likely reason would be the team themselves. Students, rightfully, have very little motivation to come and watch a football game for multiple hours that they do not feel confident their school will win.
It has been evident, to me, that schools with outstanding teams that win on a consistent basis have the “better,” or larger, student sections. For example, the top football team in the state and nation, Mater Dei, has one of the largest student sections, with the most school spirit, taking up each and every row in their student section that flows over multiple sections of the stands. On the other hand, here at Buena, ranked 400 in the state, the students do not want to go to the games and pay the cost of the ticket with a 50 percent, or less, chance of the team winning.
There is also the possibility that the team may play better with a larger student section. The 2023 homecoming game against Channel Islands High School had one of the largest student sections of the year, our rivalry game being the only one that could have beat the size. Coincidentally, we won that game. Knowing that the school is watching could put pressure on the team to perform better, possibly helping their win rates.
At Buena, the community usually built by sporting events is almost nonexistent, only coming to light the week of the rivalry game. Students should want to come to the games for the games, not because their friends are going, and the only way to do that is to bring the school together in the student section and build up the football team. If we encourage our teams, we can encourage our school community.
