The importance of students supporting all athletic teams

In my three years at Seton Hall, it seems every year around this time that students stop showing up to the sporting events on cam­pus. The first few weeks are filled with students going to soccer games and other team sports but then when weather is not perfect, students become disinterested in attending these games. While in some ways I can understand this, it does not mean you should stop supporting your fellow students on the field.

Basketball is number one at Se­ton Hall and that is not going to change anytime soon, as it is the one major college sport the school has, and those games just show what can be. The most memorable and fun basketball games to at­tend are not just because it was a big upset over a top 10 UConn or Georgetown; it is the atmosphere that is in the arena as it is happening. While you might remem­ber close games and are exciting at the time, down the line they seem more and more like a normal game because the atmosphere is not the same.

Many students probably feel that going to soccer or volleyball games is not that exciting, and that is probably true, but it is not because the teams are bad: volley­ball is 8-1 and the women's soc­cer team was ranked in the North­east's top 10. It is because no one is at those games except mostly parents and a few small groups of students. However, if students started to show up to these games like they do for men's basketball games, the spectators will become more enthused leading to more excitement at the games.

Each point, goal, or big save will seem a lot more exciting if the stands are filled with fellow fans to cheer along with and that added excitement will make the athletes feel like they play for more than just themselves. They will feel like they are actually playing for their school and for their fans in the stands.

This is not just exclusive to soc­cer and volleyball in the fall but all sports that Seton Hall offers. The more people that attend the more fun and exciting those games will be regardless of the result.

Stephen Valenti is a senior journalism major from Lans­dale, PA . He can be reached at stephen.valenti@student.shu.edu.