As the fences rose around the stadium this summer, what once resembled a field became just another construction site on campus. This final step of the modernization has largely impacted the athletic teams, who have no home field this season.
The tennis team is the exception, as their courts still stand, though diminished in size. However, every other outdoor team does not have a home game.
Field hockey and cross country join volleyball, boys soccer and girls soccer as fall teams that are practicing off campus. Besides tennis, all teams will have to adjust to playing their home games at sites that are to be considered “neutral”. Athletes will need to adapt to these changes, and consequently, fan attendance has suffered due to this change.
In the past, fans gathered in large crowds to attend games like football and boys soccer. Now, with all the road games, many people have noticed a noticeable drop in fan turnout this season.
“There were more people at last year’s games, but I think we’re slowly getting there,” said junior Caitlin Seppi.
Inconvenience, and the fact that people do not know how to travel to the games, are the two big contributors for this decline.
“It’s different now that all of the ‘home games’ are actually away,” said senior Brandon Frankel. “It’s harder for people to get to the games.”
Getting to games is especially hard on underclassmen, who for the most part cannot drive. This issue hits underclassmen harder than anyone else.
“I have had a harder time getting to games compared to last year,” said sophomore Laura Kennedy. “It’s harder for me and my friends to get rides to and from the games.”
Around this same time last year the Mad Cows formed, having great success in getting fans and members of the organization alike to go to sports events. When all the leaders of the group graduated, the group seemed as if it had ended, but several seniors picked up where their predecessors left off.
“While the Mad Cows are not a school-sponsored group, we are trying to get a club charter written and get help from the booster club,” said senior class secretary Owen Benge, who is trying to revive the club.
While fan attendance has dropped so far, some fans argue that the smaller crowds are more intense the larger crowds of old.
“Just like at the [ice] hockey games, a small crowd is sometimes better, because when you have a small intense crowd, there is more energy per person,” said junior soccer player Nico Deandreis.
Fans like Frankel argue that fan attendance has no impact on the games.
“Athletes are in the zone when they’re playing, and the crowd shouldn’t really affect the players,” he said.
