“Best Student Section”? Not So Fast.
We Can Do Better
The RMHS Student Section Instagram feed from earlier this year.
May 9, 2023
The RMHS student section claims to be the best student section in Massachusetts, but they drop the ball on supporting female athletics.
The girls’ sports games are appallingly unattended by the RMHS student body. This lack of attendance is directly related to the power held by the the RMHS Student Section social media account. With the continuous past trends in upperclassmen holding power over the underclassmen, the seniors running this fanbase need to use their power more constructively. They can’t just promote the guys’ sports teams–specifically the football team, hockey team, and lacrosse team. The senior student section leaders heavily promote these boys’ teams using their voices and social media presence, which is why these sports teams have a major following at RMHS. It’s time that we do the same for girls’ sports.
The main source of information for the games comes from the RHMS Student Section Instagram. Posts are made on game days to promote attendance or relay information about themes, times and location. However, when you take a quick glance at the page it is evident that girls games are publicized significantly less then the boys. With a closer look, discrepancies can also be seen in wording and advertisement for the games.
Larger boys games will often get special graphics with captions of “attendance is absolutely mandatory” or “pack the ‘Bank”, usually written in all caps. At best, girls’ games will get all caps with the location, time of game and a standard team photo… that is if they post for the game at all.
The girls’ regular season games are very rarely attended by the student body and this attendance doesn’t change during playoffs. Playoff games are the most exciting time of the year for athletes and fans which is why many would believe that there would be a massive increase in fans for these games. This excitement is relayed over to the guys’ games, but not the girls’ games. This was shown in the fall as our field hockey team finished the season as the #3 seed in the state and had three home playoff games before their elimination in the elite eight. Even with the convenience of the game right in our backyard, very few members of the student body showed up to support the field hockey team. By contrast, the boys hockey team had their elite eight game in Braintree, an hour away, with a sold out RMHS student section at the game. This game was heavily publicized with a USA theme and fan buses in order to get underclassmen with no license to the game. The difference in attendance between these two games is alarming, as the girls field hockey game had very few fans with a home game and the boys hockey game had almost the entire student body cheering at an away game.
Some would argue that the football team and hockey team play at a prime time and on the ultimate platform which is hard to argue; however, this doesn’t mean girls sports games can’t also be attended. We are not discouraging attendance at football or boys hockey games, as we can acknowledge how fun they can be, but there must be the same level of effort by a student-run fan account to promote girls’ games.
A reasonable solution that we came up with after only minutes of talking was promoting a “game of the week” on the RMHS Student Section Instagram account. The idea is that the RMHS Student Section would use their platform to encourage attendance at a game from a different in-season sport each week. For example highlighting a girls soccer game throughout the week and implementing a theme. This will allow other sports teams to get a taste of the spotlight and understand what it’s like to play for fans from their own student body. The student section would now be acknowledging other sports teams, specifically girls athletics, and encouraging many students to attend.
The RMHS Student Section fan account can’t force attendance, but as we stated earlier, the student section leaders need to use their power to make all sports teams feel acknowledged.
The RMHS Student Section gave themselves the title of “Best Student Section in Massachusetts,” yet it is clear to other towns and their own peers that they fall short of constant support for ALL sports, and thus this self-proclaimed title is worthy of serious doubt.
Loading ...