From the start of the season Westside has had consistent showing at home football games; the student section has been filled to the brim several times, yet somehow, the strength of our voices has been equivalent to a visiting Fremont trailing 30 points.

But why?

I can’t help but think back to the game against Creighton Prep, undoubtedly Westside’s best student section showing this year. For once it seemed as though the student body was coming together to support their team as the majority of the rows joined in cheer. Though, after the 41-0 win on Sept. 3, the student section quickly diminished.

Three weeks later I recall walking through the back half of the student body when I asked a girl if she would rather watch the game or socialize. I received a glare and a response that epitomized the majority of the kids there, “uh, socialize.”

I soon realized the cheering was confined to a mere three to five rows of the bleachers, as students are too concerned with their phones and “not looking stupid” to cheer.

With the rest of the football season being win-or-go home, I just want students to realize what they are cheering for: not everyone loves football, or sports in general, though a team is something that represents the whole school, they play for the name on the front of the jersey, not the back. Sporting events, like the game tonight against Papillion-La Vista is an opportunity for the Westside community to come as one and cheer the players on to victory so in three weeks we can travel down to Lincoln and watch them take home the championship…for us.

It’s time for students to use our student section’s size to our advantage, put our phones down for two hours and not care about what people thinks about us screaming our heads off, not because we love football, but because we love Westside.