This weekend will mark the 148th Winter Andover/Exeter (A/E) day. Be there. However, we’re here to encourage hype not only for our amazing Varsity athletes on A/E but for our Junior Varsity (JV) athletes every week as well. On Wednesday, Girls JV Hockey demonstrated that energy can be created at any game, as long as the crowd wants to create it.
According to attendees of the game, it was one of, if not the most hype competition, of their season, which can be attributed to the lively crowd. Several parents had shown up, as well as members of Boys JV Hockey and multiple Blue Key Heads. During the game, also, the team celebrated Senior Night and its Head Coach Jacob Montanaro’s departure following the end of this season. The team and the crowd was determined to make the game count. Why don’t we see this more often?
The fact that many students look forward to A/E as the highlight of fall and winter beg the question as to why students cannot create this joy for themselves regularly. While A/E is special with its crowds of painted faces, desperate Exonians, and competitive spirit, we have the free will to bring some of this vigor to all of our sports games. Indeed, the solidarity that we feel wearing Andover merch and cheering on our Varsity teams is something that can be created whenever we’d like; recognizing this will spur our school spirit.
Students notice that school spirit is lacking, and yet, we don’t do much about it. Our final two Co-Presidential candidates have both publicized their goals of community-building and invigorating the student body. Some students complain that dances have become less attended, and community activities feel like drudgery.
The solution to this problem, though, lies in plain sight: show up. Each Wednesday and Saturday, Director of Athletics Lisa Joel posts sports competitions across the JV, JV2, and Varsity level. As students, we can do better in attending these games. We can also act by spreading the word about underrepresented competitions and getting hype for our peers. See you Saturday!
