ALBIN’S ANGLE

Fanbase inequality High schools see attendance disparity between girls, boys sporting events

Nate Albin albinnat000@hsestudents.org

Every team wants a full fanbase behind them at every game. A loud crowd can erupt and demoralize the opponent or fuel a big comeback. There is a reason why Vegas values home fi eld as a three-point advantage in football. It matters. For this advantage to occur, there must be fans in the seats at the games. Overall, high schools have problems with this. USA Today chronicled this issue in March 2019 in an article about how New Jersey high schools fail to get big crowds. The article shows that, other than football, student sections nationwide struggle to fi ll up. The worst part is that at girls’ sporting events, the students are basically non-existent. No game sums this up better than the girls basketball team’s Jan.11 loss to North Central. The Tigers were undefeated going into the game against the highly-ranked opponent. )s 6orth +entral started to take and extend their lead, it was actually the visiting crowd that was audible. Parents of North Central players and JV players were the loudest following every steal, rebound and made shot. By the end of the third quarter, FHS was going to need a miracle to even have a chance of winning. The Tigers were playing a road game at home. Just the night before, the student section was fi lled by students sporting various Rerseys for that night’s theme as the boys’ team took on Pike. In the game, Pike played better in every phase of the game. They were more aggressive, they played cleaner and they practiced the fundamentals of good basketball. But the student section was loud. Every good play made by the Tigers was met with huge applause and yells. ,espite the - loss, .HS was pushing to win with the fi lled student section behind them whole-heartedly. The boys game saw ! tickets sold while the girls game only managed to sell 2 tickets, Rust over half as many.

Sadly, this was illustrated again on Jan. 17 when there was a full student section for the boys’ game tipoff at ", but barely a Yuarter full for the girls’ tip at ". *oth games were at home on a Friday night. Other high schools around the nation have also noticed this problem. Student Rournalists at Edina High School in Minnesota and Lake Zurich High School in Illinois have written about the huge diff erence in attendance. Edina’s story reported that the girls hockey state tournament drew about 1 as many fans as the boys tournament. Lake Zurich’s story noted that boys games drew full student sections while girls games were mainly Rust parents. This is inexcusable. If we want all of our teams to get that home-fi eld advantage, we need to love our teams equally. As an athlete, I can say that it is nice to have someone rooting for you. Somebody telling you to dig deeper can give you that extra boost needed to achieve success. Sometimes, it feels impossible to cause change in the world, especially in something as hotly debated as equality. But this one is easy, and we can all work to fi x it. /o to a girls game. It has been a great year for our teams. Whether it is a swim meet or basketball game or later this year a tennis or softball match, go see girls teams play, too. They are your classmates, your friends and athletes representing your school. If you cheer for the boys teams, why would you not cheer for the girls teams? 1. On Jan. 21, senior Tamia Perryman goes for a layup in a 65-44 win over Carmel. 2. Sophomore Bryce Williams leaps for the ball during a 61-45 loss on Jan. 17 in front of a packed stand. This section of stands displays the contrast between girls and boys attendance. Photos by Nate Albin. 1. 1 2