Aliso Niguel High School’s school spirit has been questioned by staff and students alike due to the student body’s lack of participation in school events and activities; most issues root from the attendance at home football games.
In 2022 the “Aliso Niguel Den” was named Orange County’s Student Section of the Year, and this year; however, The Den is a ghost town after the halftime show.
Football games are a great reflection of a high school’s student spirit, yet over the 2023 season, there’s been a great decline in Aliso’s student participation.
The empty stands are disappointing not only to the fans of the game, but also to the athletes on the field. It is common knowledge that the cheering of fans at sporting events uplifts the morale of the game.
There are a variety of reasons as to why students wouldn’t want to stay for the full game. It’s important to remember the traffic, weather and occasional boredom that comes with football games.
“This traffic is really gnarly… and I don’t really understand how football works so I don’t really see the point in staying,” says Camden (12).
Additionally, it doesn’t help that the Aliso football team doesn’t always win, and while we had an amazing season so far, it doesn’t change the fact that students not interested in football wouldn’t be inclined to stay and watch our school lose.
“It gets cold! Well, most of the time I leave when we lose; when we’re winning I stay. It’s probably bad for school spirit, but every school does it.” says Elise Lang (12).
However, this lack of school spirit has a direct impact on the motivation and performance of the players. Without the support and encouragement from a spirited crowd, their drive may waver, ultimately affecting their on-field performance.
Essentially, this means that the lack of attendance because of losing scores could lead to a further decline in performance because there are no students in the crowd to cheer the school team on.
School spirit at football games plays a crucial role in the sense of belonging and unity among students. The lack of participation noticed throughout the season, it gives rival schools a reason to believe that we don’t have a unified student body.
Fortunately, this isn’t the look students are hoping for and many are working to change this image by being present in school events and encouraging peers to do the same.
“I stay because I like to show school spirit, and yeah everyone leaves at halftime so they can go get In-In Out because they don’t really care about the game, but the thing is that we’re seniors so we should enjoy every second of it because we never know when it might end, so enjoy every second of it of you can.” says Joshua Martinez (12).
Only through fellow peer participation can the Aliso student body encourage current and incoming students to participate in building a united school community.
