Student Section Themes: Flop or Not?

This year’s football season has been outstanding so far. With the team going 5-1, the season is one of promise. Some could consider this largely to do with the support of the student section. Ridgewood High School has an amazing record concerning attendance of the games. Part of the fun when attending a game is the lively atmosphere created by those around you. Themes play a large role in the excitement. Thus far, our themes have been pretty basic and consistent with years past. We’ve had a white out, black out, pink out, and a maroon out. These themes correlate with years past, and provide no evidence of creativity.

 When comparing to other schools where we see neon, USA, Cowboys, and so on, Ridgewood does not stand out. The atmosphere at a game provides more motivation to the players. If the student section is dull, the players lose the motivation to do well and impress their fellow peers. When talking to students about what they want to see when attending the games, results were similar across the board. Katarina Burton, junior, was asked what she wanted to see at the next few games, and how she felt about the themes so far. “Although the themes of white out black out and pink are fun, it would be nice to see some evolution in creativity in the next few games.” When asking Seniors what they thought of the themes during their last year, many were not thrilled. Leyla Unlusoy, senior, said that she felt “the themes are the same as every year, they’re getting kind of boring.” 

We reached out to one of the football players, to see if he thought the liveliness of the student body had anything to do with his performance. Bobby Kuenzler, junior fullback, said he feels “the liveliness definitely plays a role for the team. Although I would not say the different color themes that the student body chooses has a particular effect on performance, I will say that the presence of the student section is vital when a big play is made, or a touchdown is scored. The crowd brings pressure and fear of losing to a new level. This is not a bad thing. It motivates us more to represent our town each week and succeed. We don’t want to let anyone down, including ourselves. The crowd energy is awesome, I personally love it. It absolutely helps us perform better during a game, especially when the score is close.” 

In the spirit of change, we asked a couple members of the student body one pressing question. If they had an opportunity to add two new themes to the games, what would they be? Answers varied and a few we thought were quite creative. Lyndsey Pride, junior, said she would add a “neon and hawaiian theme.” Nichole Koltsov, junior, said she would love to attend a “Cowboy themed game or a Camouflage night.” Hopefully, the student body will take action regarding changing the themes. They play such an important role when it comes down to the performance of the players. Go Maroons!


Isabella Burger
Staff Writer

Graphic: Jooyeon Yang

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