Student Section Crowds

Here we go, Kennedy Cougars are now into basketball season. Do you know what this means? Its winter. Its cold outside, and nobody really wants to leave their house anymore.

Basketball season gives the students of Kennedy a reason to go out, and all cuddle up together in a nice, warm, loud, indoor student section.

Standing and cheering is what people do at basketball games, and a lot of times it gets pretty crazy. Personally, I love a good basketball game that is really close at the end, because then the other team goes home disappointed and the Cougars are on top of the world.

Another great thing about basketball games is that the student sections of opposing teams can see each other really well, and are actually pretty close. That calls for some intense yelling across the court.. face gestures, and maybe even some unsportsmanlike middle fingers.

In fact, I found that there is a big debate going around about student sections. Many people are wondering if they can actually change games, so you can read more about it here.

I have the opinion that student sections can totally change the outcome of the game, from watching other people play, and personal experience myself.

If you think about it, every sports team would like to have "home field advantage," Am I right? And what are the main reasons for this? Could it be that football players want to play on their own turf? Bowlers know the oil patterns? Golfers know the course? and basketball players like the sound of their announcer better?

Well for logical purposes, yeah I suppose it could be any of that stuff.. But just go with me for a minute and say that NO the athletes don't want any of that stuff, they just want their school cheering them on!!

I am making a very broad statement, but I would think any sports team would like the sound of people they know cheering for them and pushing them to win even harder. I know when I hear people yelling at me to GOOOO! I run to first base a little harder than if everyone was dead silent. Now maybe it is just a psychological thing, but I totally believe in it. When I hear people cheering for me, I do better by far. That is why I think student sections can change games.

If I can run harder with one person yelling at me, think of the adrenaline that NFL football players get with thousands of people yelling at them. In most stadiums, when an away team is on offense the team can barely hear the snap count because the crowd is that loud. If you can't hear a snap count, the game is changed for sure.

Now when it comes down to the Kennedy basketball teams, it is not a situation of not being able to hear or anything like that. But the fact of the matter is that when you hear the students go crazy after a big play you just made and shout your name, you are going to want to do that again. If the other team is yelling "you can't do that, you can't do that, you can't do that" after you just foul, you are not going to want to repeat that. As a player it is your job to focus, even with all the yelling and commotion, but sometimes you can get a little adrenaline rush out of the student section when we are doing cheers for you!

I hope that the Kennedy student section can affect the outcome of some of the games this season by cheering our a**es off, and being so loud that we intimidate the other team. Also it is important to have fun and do all the back and forth things that go on between student sections at basketball games. I advise us all to go crazy, and bring out our best cheers to the table. It is definately what we do best.

GOO COUGARS!!