By:  Kaylie Doherty

Monday night the Westborough Rangers boys’ basketball team endured a grueling, semi-final game where they held their own against the Hopkinton Hillers.  Fans crowded the WPI stands decked out in white clothes, face paint, hats, and white towels to wave.  Fans of both Westborough and Hopkinton packed the gym and were ready for a “Marquee Matchup.”

As the game began students rose from the bleachers and started cheering only to be scolded and told to sit down.  Westborough teens then began chanting during Hopkinton’s foul shots, only to be told to stop and show proper sportsmanship.  Some Westborough teens pulled out newspapers to hold up while Hopkinton brought up the ball.  But once again, within seconds, the boys were told to put the newspapers down and watch the game.  The students came prepared to support the Rangers basketball team in a harmless and humorous way, only to be rejected and ignored by Westborough administration.

By the end of the game students grew silent and all spirit was lost.  All of the fans’ innocent attempts at pumping the Rangers up were rejected.  The Rangers fed off of the crowds’ spirit and enthusiasm making runs in the middle of the game, but as the cheering options dwindled, so did the Rangers spirit on the court.  When a crowd gets into the game, I believe they have an impact on how the sports team plays.  The adrenaline runs through the athletes and altogether improves their playing.

Westborough High School administration promotes school spirit, but undermines students’ attempts at building spirit.  Most Westborough teams are not surprised when only a handful of fans show up to support the teams during their regular season games.  Even when the athletes are lucky enough to partially fill the stands with fans, the silence and lack of school spirit is deafening.  In the previous years at Westborough High, students would pile into the bleachers to support all of the Ranger teams.  These spirited fans, with their electric cheers, would ignite a whirl wind of energy in the building, and the athletes would feed off the explosive crowd.  Now administration is suppressing our cheering and chanting at games, and then wondering why Westborough High School is lacking in school spirit. What do we need?….

S C H O O L   S P I R I T….When do we need it?… N O W!!!!!!!