Leave My Hype Alone, it’s on the Ref!
How many games do you go to in a week? Even if you aren’t physically there, how often do you yell at the TV or radio about a bad play? Sports are such a huge part of American entertainment and a cause of our emotions. Our mood the next day is all based on the game’s score, or maybe the headache.Photos by//Libby Fisher
Nowadays when you go to sporting events, especially basketball in Indiana, you can’t help screaming at something. The ref made a bad call, the player messed up, the coach isn’t doing well; we let everyone know with ear-splitting screams. Though an outsider may think it’s unacceptably rude, cruel, etc…oh wait they’re next to you being just as loud.
At school events administrators are there telling us to be quiet when we “boo” or say a curse that lasts two rotations. We all know the energy is so contagious they wish they could join in on the wild time. If anything, thanks to fans refs can make a good call once in awhile if they’re glasses are correct.
Although today’s games are all about the hype. In the wrong environment you just can’t perform. For tournaments you practice with people screaming at you, athletes have to focus to perform. In high school and college, the student section is the main dictator.
“What I like about the student section is the fact that all the seniors give out a tremendous amount of energy that not only gets the players hyped but also the other students,” sophomore Eden Lavigne said. “In my opinion the energy put off by the student section gets the players pumped up. Being down by a few points easily changes when we put a little bit of energy towards them they can take the lead back.”
An important point Lavigne mentions was how our cheers can affect all the players both on our team and the opponents, both mentally and physically. Positive cheers will set a good example for our school, and are good for the younger kids who come to the games. They see high schoolers as role models, and no one needs an eight year old saying something bad. “I really enjoy our New Albany student section, the seniors take the high road and pump us all up and focus on why we are here,” said Lavigne. “The student section sets the tone for the game and the rest of the night. Personally I always look forward to coming to the games because many of the seniors are very good at getting us hyped for the team and school we love.”
We love our team so much we can’t help but chant negative cheers when an opponent is unsportsmanlike or a ref blatantly ignorant. It can come back on our school in the eyes of our administrators, but what happens when adults join us or look to us for the chant to push forward? What needs to be remembered is we are being crazy and rambunctious teenagers, we do not mean to label New Albany as anything but extraordinary.
“My opinion on crowd control with holding chains and all that stuff, it’s useless,” junior Ethan Kruer said.
NAHS ROTC cadets holds chain in the corners of the gym to restrain people from getting in the way of the game or getting hurt until there’s a timeout. A majority of the time 20 people behind these students then rush forward to get to their seats and go back to screaming.
Kruer said he really thinks someone could get hurt, especially an elderly citizen or a small child. Any number of things could go wrong, drinks and food could be dropped and would create a real dilemma. Kruer doesn’t get the courtside advantage many would think, it’s simply a countdown to a human sprint. Often Kruer says he asks himself “why is this even here?”
There just is no controlling a buzz that takes control of everyone as soon as you step in the door. Our trophies glint and gleam, our colors bold and bright. New Albany is a world in itself, but bigger than that is the universe we are a part of.Sports are a part of most everyone’s life. The wild good time is inexchangeable for anything else. We shouldn’t limit memories and stories because it offends one person, if that was so we’d all be duck-taped at the mouth. Any game, no doubt, is affected by the energy from a crowd: an unmovable force that shouldn’t be reckoned with.