Often, as a freshman, it felt like Timpview sporting events were attended by the spirits of those who attended this school since its founding. The stands were flooded with energy and the colors were all in unison. Me and all of my freshman buddies felt lucky to be in even the 8th row of the student section.

Nowadays, the parent side is almost completely empty and the student section is lucky to get 2 rows of people. Not to mention, the bleachers behind the hoops have a non-existent crowd. But why is nobody coming to the games anymore? It is not a lack of interest in sports, because the attendance at all of the football games was great. Maybe it is because the interest in basketball specifically has declined just as the NBA’s numbers are showing. Or maybe, it is the abundant amount of basketball games that gives people the excuse of, “there are so many other games this year, I don’t need to go to this one.” 

Senior Luke Nelson pointed out the fact that there aren’t any seniors on the team and maybe that is contributing to the lack of some senior attendance. He said, “there aren’t any seniors on the team so a big part of the school feels unrepresented. When my good friends Corbyn Hansen and Fisher Ross were on the team, I made a point to go out and support them.” Nelson has only been to one game this year so far.

Nelson’s comment was the same as most seniors when they were asked about their lack of attendance. And this view is reasonable. The point of going to school sporting events is to watch your friends or people you know compete for your school. So, this explains why most seniors said, “I don’t know anyone on the team, so why would I go?”

Senior Dane Hart said, “Things just aren’t as lit anymore. I mean we don’t even turn off the lights and play thunderstruck when the starting five are being announced. Not to mention, we can’t even yell ‘air ball’ at a kid without the school getting us in trouble.”

While I wouldn’t say that people were going to the games back in the day to watch the starting 5 be announced, there is a definite feeling of us being jipped in a way and that might contribute to the lack of people showing up to these school sporting events.

A lot of the people we asked about the basketball attendance issue voiced their frustrations about the Timpview Administration getting an ever tightening grip around everything involving sporting events. Senior Joey Covey has been to one basketball game this year and he said this about it. “The main thing is, every year they have gotten less fun; Slowly and surely the administration has made it less and less fun.” 

While the administration’s overreach was the answer to some students on their lack of attendance,  lots of people said that they simply did not want to go. “I would rather ski,” said Sophomore North Taylor. And similarly, Sophomore Carter Nevers said that there are so many basketball games, he’s just not going to go to all of them.

Senior Leo Auernig had a different take on the attendance issue, he said, “I think it’s sad that the games don’t mean what they used to. I think if everyone showed up and engaged they would see how awesome it can be and how much unity it can bring.”

Which brings me to my final point. To the people who wished that the games were back to the way they were in 2022, just make it happen. If the numbers are small right now, don’t lose hope. Just make fun memories with the ones that are there. The more the others hear about how fun the games can be, the more they’ll want to come themselves. Don’t wait for the school to change. Be the change. If you want to do an edgy chant but are afraid that you might get kicked out of the game, then get kicked out of the game. We’re only in high school after all and this is the time to make memories that will last forever.