I have been raised in an SEC World. Ever since I was born I was attending football, basketball, and sometimes baseball games for the University of Georgia. One would probably think that I would end up attending school there, which was not the case. I made the choice to attend a small school in Florida, Rollins College, I'm sure you haven't heard of it, but just to help you out we are the Number 1 Most Beautiful College Campus AND the Number 1 Regional University in the South (and the crowd goes wild). Enough of me bragging about my school, that's not what this article is about.
From growing up in that crazy SEC lifestyle I knew what school spirit was, and it really surprised me that school spirit in the sports aspect really did not make it on the trip down. Life at an NCAA DII School is SO different than anything compared to a huge NCAA D1 school. Some people here might say otherwise, but personally I don't see a huge craze or excitement for school spirit, at least for our sports teams. I don't think that this is due to our lack of sports, because we have tons, well not like tons, but we do have twenty-three teams that all do fairly well during their seasons. As an athlete and lover of sports, I can easily say that the times when people will almost always attend is whenever your team is playing the number one team in the division, or you are playing for the championship. At Rollins, if you are just playing a normal game, there is a possible chance your student section could be lacking in individuals.
So why have I heard of this thing called a "Tar Pit" but never actually seen one? Probably because I haven't been to as many games as I wanted to, but that's mainly my fault and totally besides the point. However, I have come up with a couple of reasons as to why it is so difficult to get this campus to really back up their sports teams on a daily basis, instead of during extremely difficult and or championship games.
#1 - A lot of students who attend this school, whether they are athletes or not, really do not care for watching sports in the long run. I am SO happy that college football is finally back in season, but a lot of my friends have never even been to a college football game, so how are they ever going to get excited for that??*Yes, I do know that Rollins does NOT have a football team, but you get it!*
#2 - Almost every student, if not all students here, are in an extra-curricular activity. Whether it be a sport, a club, a sorority, or even a job. Everyone here normally does have something to else do that does not revolve around a sports game.
*Being in a sorority and on a sports-team I have chapter once a week, and every other day I have practice. As much as I would love to support my fellow Tars, it does become difficult to balance a schedule where you can become dedicated to another team while you have so many other things on your plate*
#3 - Our workload is hard. Since we attend such a great school we enroll ourselves into 4+ credit classes all while trying to get good grades, have a good social life, and being active in other activities, like I mentioned in point #2. For students who really are not that concerned with sports, asking them to add sports games to their schedule is not something they are ready to take on along with their courses.
I would love to say that I have been to see every single sports team in one of their games, matches, meets, or regattas, but I cannot lie. Maybe I should make that a goal of mine before I graduate. If I can make that a goal, then I challenge my readers to do the same as well. One game would never hurt anyone, it would probably make you, and your classmates feel so great.
If the school was ever really looking to make the School Spirit in Sports grow, a lot of changes around campus would seriously have to change. I don't know where they would need to start, but I do know that our amazing athletes on this amazing campus do need more recognition than what they are given. I am sure that in almost every class you take, there is probably an athlete. Make it a GOAL that you will go and attend one of their events before the semester is over, you might actually end up enjoying the sport.
#AnchorDown #TarUp
#TarNation
