Have you ever been to a soccer or volleyball game where the stands are filled with parents and students all dressed to a specific theme? Honestly, probably not. The sad reality is,  those kinds of sports don’t attract that kind of attention at Skyline High School. Meanwhile, it’s hard to imagine football without a significant crowd and students not dressed to a theme. It’s almost impossible because football draws in huge crowds of students from the school and people from the community. 

Football games have an unmatched energy, but that same kind of energy is missing from the other sports where only the parents and some close friends attend. For example, when asked about the attendance at mountain bike races, a mountain biker stated, “The racers and parents are there to cheer on their kids, and some volunteers also help out.” The lack of attention the sports are getting is frustrating and diminishes all other student-athletes who invest as much time and effort as the football players. 

Football’s popularity doesn’t just come from the sport. It also comes from money, tradition, and school endorsement. In most high schools, it’s a tradition to attend a football game and the events the school hosts. The school’s endorsement of football gives all the other sports an unfair disadvantage. The school is so financially invested in football that it’s no wonder that the other sports stands aren’t as full. Unfortunately, if the school switched its focus to a different sport, it wouldn’t be able to match football’s income and cultural significance. The football tradition is so ingrained in high school and U.S. culture that shifting all the attention to another sport would be impractical. A better way would be to share the spotlight and distribute the attention more equitably among all sports. This way, every student-athlete can enjoy the recognition and support they deserve.