Joe Coughlin, Editor of the Wilmette Beacon, wrote an editorial called “Did School Spirit Become Uncool?” on October 24, 2013, saying that New Triers school spirit had increasingly gone down.
According to Coughlin, “On homecoming night Friday, in an important and special senior game, there was a full house for a kickoff. By halftime (in a tight ball game), the student section was nearly bare.”
This topic brought up tension for certain New Trier Students. Junior Remy Clotfelter said, “People cheer all the way through the game. The players go in with as much confidence as they can and if they don’t have a backup confidence booster, it probably puts them in a bad mood. If I practiced every day after school for two long hours and then played in a game on Friday night, I would want people to cheer me on. They work really hard, and the games are always fun because everyone is hyped up and excited.”
On the other hand, Junior Jordi Price said “I hardly attend the football games at all. When I do, I stay until halftime, because, in my opinion, halftime is the best part of the game.”
Not only was the second half of the game nearly empty according to Coughlin, but he “witnessed school spirit that put New Trier to shame.” He claims that “it’s not popular to be Cheery McFan,” but he’s “seen Trevian fans be out-cheered in their home stadiums and arenas.”
A large portion of students who regularly attend the New Trier football games disagree. New Trier students who go to the games to support their classmates do it with exuberance and confidence.
Junior Rachel Mirkin said, “I don’t know why anyone would say cheering at the New Trier games was uncool. I think the opposite, that students cheer more to fit in with the crowd and applaud their classmate. If anyone doesn’t go, it’s most likely because it’s too cold outside, or they have other places they need to be.”
New Trier Cheerleader Hannah Perl said “As a cheerleader, I attend all football and basketball games. At any sport event there is a crowd cheering them on. Being on the field and being able to see the audience in the stands, I can definitely say that it is completely true that people leave after halftime. I do think that the team players deserve a crowd of their peers cheering them on. They work so hard and practice so much.”
Coughlin mentioned that “there are plenty members of the Green Team that can stand up without hesitation and say, ‘I’m there every game and I bleed blue and green.’ I think, however, members of the Green Team as well as the pep club and the student-athletes who bleed on the field have felt a lack of support from their classmates.”
New Trier does numerous spirit related activities and events, some of which are entirely student-generated. An example is when the seniors on the last day of school where they wore crazy and colorful costumes. Stacy Kolack, Student Activities Coordinator, said, “I meet with activity directors around the area, but I believe New Trier has more new and different ideas than many other schools. We have spirit in many different ways including dressing up for dances, seniors last day of school, grad night, performing arts, winter carnival, and Halloween costumes.”
Kolack also mentioned, “I disagree with New Trier being spiritless, especially with the homecoming games. They always tend to be packed and full of enthusiasm. Last year there were too few tickets in comparison to the people who wanted to go to the game, so they had to make more. Turnabout was sold out as well, and they had to open a whole extra gym in order to fit all the students.”
Varsity Football player James Doan said, “I think New Trier students are always supportive, especially to other athletes at New Trier. I tend to focus more on winning the game rather than how many people are in the stands. Whether it’s ten people, or one hundred, I’m going to focus on winning. Personally, I feel bad for anyone who wouldn’t attend it because they think it’s ‘uncool’.”