Someone told me the other day that supporting a team is like raising a child. A parent cannot allow a child to raise itself without support through both the good and bad times. With no support, the child will not be able to accomplish their potential. I believe Nicholls lacks true school spirit, looking simply at the number of fans at each game for each sport.

According to an Internet source, school spirit refers to emotional support for one’s educational institution. This can apply to any type of school, from grade schools to universities. It can be manifested in the exhibition of school colors in dress and decoration, attendance of athletic events or verbally in the form of chants or cheers.

The last time I checked, school spirit involved the school you attended rather than a school you wished you attended because of the media excellence the school has.

It seems that while Nicholls can get fans in their stands for sporting events, it is often parents of the players, supporters in the community and visiting fans, not students. And while there are fans at the game, someone can usually look around and count the handful in attendance.

The only exception is when the Colonels play teams such as the Tigers of Louisiana State University.

In the Colonels’ April 14 game against the Tigers mentioned above, the fan attendance was a season high of 633, most of which were people associated with Nicholls, wearing the red, white, grey or black attire in support.

While the reason for the vast amount of people in attendance at that game is unknown, one can assume it was because of LSU. I say this because the next weekend series for the Colonels only produced 311 fans total for all three games.

As much effort people put into fitting LSU football games and other Tiger sporting events into their schedule, Colonel fans, faculty, staff and students should try to schedule in games that their school plays in.

Some people say they do not attend games because of the lack of wins. My question is how can a team be successful if it does not have the motivational support of its school.

As a former athlete, I know first hand how important it is to have fans in the stands that support the team. So looking from both sides, more people should support Colonel athletics.

A total of 633 fans were in attendance at the April 14 game against LSU. (Katelyn Thibodeaux)