School Spirit Shouldn’t Rely on Game Records

Although Nicholls’ school spirit was in full swing this past homecoming week, students need to keep in mind that school spirit and support should not be conditional.

What’s the point of only supporting your university’s team during homecoming week or when the scores are in your favor? Even though homecoming week is a special tradition that brings everyone together for the sake of school pride, imagine the positivity that could come from having the same school spirit of homecoming week year-round.

Many students might argue that homecoming week is the only time they can really look forward to and participate in spirit activities because they don’t have enough time for them during the rest of the year. Some students might not even have any interest to participate in them at all. This mindset not only ruins the full college experience for themselves but also puts their peers at a disadvantage as well. Lack of involvement makes it harder on those students who actually want to be spirited. It even has the potential to lower the morale of student athletes. Although this lack of involvement often gets shrugged off by individuals, it can eventually impact athletic teams and the university as a whole.

There’s no doubt that many people only showed up to the game because it was homecoming. Although that can be expected, there are many other home games that are convenient to attend through the season. Some might say that it’s easy to attend homecoming games because they are played at home, but what can be said about other home games during the season? What makes a home game special if a team’s family is not there to support them when they can easily be there? It can be argued that athletes play better when they have a crowd supporting them, so why do we see such little turnouts even at home games?

To the people who attended the homecoming game but never attend other games simply because of our team’s record, here’s something to consider: by going to the homecoming game, you supported the homecoming week slogan “We’re All ‘N.’” That phrase alone exemplifies what it truly means to be a Colonel. It shows that everyone at Nicholls and everyone who supports Nicholls is in this together. The school spirit shown this past homecoming week was a true expression of that phrase; however, truly living up to that phrase requires support of our university and all of its divisions, even outside of homecoming week.

Because Nicholls has such a strong sense of unity, the phrase “We’re All ‘N’” is much more than just a homecoming slogan: it shows that Nicholls is a family year-round. A family is there to support you through everything, especially hard times. With that being said, families should make an effort to be there when things get hard, so why should we look at our team any other way? A less-than-satisfactory record shouldn’t call for any less spirit or support— it should be an indication that our team needs its family’s support more than ever.

If a lack of wins determines whether or not you have school spirit, something you should put into question is if you are really “All ‘N.’” The bigger picture about school spirit is that it isn’t just about rooting for a team to win, it’s about showing love for your school and making that love evident until graduation and beyond. When students are attached to their school, they are more likely to do things to make their school proud. Can the same not be said for athletes? If a team has peers who show that same spirit to make their school proud, wouldn’t athletes have something to strive to be better for?

We shouldn’t focus on mourning over our football record because that’s not all that we have. It’s obvious to see that our team puts all they have into every game, so shouldn’t that be celebrated more than a win? Those who love this university and all that we stand for should be proud of our team because they are part of this university itself. Because of that, our team is much more than their record because they are part of our school.

Anyone who wants to blame their lack of involvement, spirit, or support on a team’s record can surly take part in that blame. At the end of the day, winning isn’t the strongest outcome anyway— it is the unity of a university.