With fall sports kicking into action at Seabury, many teams have come face to face with the nightmare of our booming student section, while many teams come face to face with near-empty stands. Why does this matter? People often think of sports as an activity that only involves athletes; however, in reality, the audience provides an important role in the minds of athletes. A loud, dominating audience leads to an efficient, dominant team. But the audience should not be thought of as just a tool for success; their perspective matters just as much as the athletes themselves. So, what draws audiences to the courts and fields to watch their teams battle it out?
Sophomore Macy Ankenbauer explains the spectators’ psychology: “You think about, when you’re watching, the highest level you can [possibly] compete at, and then you compare it to where you compete at, and it’s just to see the differences,” she says. This introduces an interesting perspective of the awe that the audience feels for athletes. Many people even pick their favorite player based on their highlights and impressive moments. The increase in competition from amateur-level sports to professional leagues is immense and can be enjoyable for fans.
Additionally, Freshman Q Cruz shares, “When it’s your team playing, it kind of gives you … a tense moment. It feels like you’re a part of the game. So it makes you, like, ‘oh, we’ve got to get this first down’ or ‘we’ve got to get this bucket.’” These moments where the fans can forget all about whatever they were doing before the game and imagine themselves on their favorite team, working with the players and coaches to win the game, are commonplace for sports fans. These sports bring a sense of community and togetherness that is really unique to themselves; nothing else can truly bring the same widespread passion that sports invoke in people. For many tuning into the game, sports bring them a sense of togetherness and teamwork that many can find exciting or comforting.
So, how does this relate to Seabury sports? Well, the passion that fans hold in their hearts for sports is not limited to high level and professional sports, but it is also present in audiences of Seabury sports. Faculty member Lawrence Meier says, “I was someone who was not into sports a lot, not watching them until college, honestly, outside of the Olympics. But I really started enjoying it when I realized that essentially, when you’re watching the professional level, you’re watching a story unfold. But when I’m watching [sports] here, I’m getting to watch you guys just basically express yourself in a way that’s truly unique and exclusive to the way of sports.” Anyone watching Seabury sports in person, especially faculty members, have a unique connection to our athletes. Normally, athletes are nothing more than idols to the fans. But for Seabury fans, the athletes are friends, family, cousins, pupils, peers, etc. So, as Meier says, “We get to see how our athletes express themselves in games, and we can compare that to how we know them at school; from the stands, we truly get to experience their growth as an athlete and as a person and it becomes a large part of their identity.”
Additionally, the presence of audiences inspires Seabury athletes to go all out on the court. Eighth grader Savannah Mizer provides her view: “It kind of helps the team’s energy, because at away games, sometimes we can get a little bit down, especially if we’re losing there, but I think it really helps,” she says. The audience provides energy and reminds athletes that there is still hope in every game, even if they are losing. It is easy for athletes to believe that the game is too far gone when they begin to lose, but the energy the audience creates ensures the players will fight until the end. Even when they lose, the audience’s cheers will make the loss not as heartbreaking. Because there will always be the next moment, next game or next season to do better.
Though Seabury is not particularly known by outsiders as a sports powerhouse, we always put up the best fight we can. And, even when we lose, the fans will always be at the next game, ready to forget about last game’s loss and cheer for the chance of the next game’s win. When our incredible athletes and student section both bring their best performance, victory is not far behind.
