Getting out for the first time

May 22, 2009 • written by Cole Forthun, Staff Writer  
Filed under Sports

        I have noticed that many more high school students attend games that are more popularly broadcasted on TV or are at a faster-pace than golf, or tennis, which are not.

      So why is it that high school games such as hockey, football, soccer and basketball draw big crowds?  It could simply be because they are a few of the most popular sports in the United States, or maybe because most of the “jocks” play them. It could it have something to do with the fact that at a golf game you always move around, or at a high school baseball game the bleacher area is too small.

        If Michael Phelps were to come to a high school swimming meet, the crowd would probably triple in size or more. The same thing would probably happen if Tiger Woods went to a golf game, if Serena Williams went to a tennis match or if Joe Mauer came to a baseball game.

        I think many teens don’t go to certain sports because the weather conditions are too hot or too cold.  Late night fall football games can get chilly sometimes, so can track meets and soccer games in the early spring. Hockey games are played on ice in the winter and sometimes the arenas can be cold.

        I think that more teens attend sports like football, basketball, soccer and hockey because they have friends or relatives that play, or because they are interested in the sport themselves. As teens get older the competition of the game increases. As I watch golf on TV, I can see it is slow. As I watch football, hockey, and basketball, I can see they are faster-paced.

        Sideline refs might have something to do with the lack of teens at certain games. At every game, there will be a parent either yelling at the coach, referee or their own child. According to the “Center for Sports Parenting,” 40 percent of teens ­­have seen some sort of physical abuse by coaches and parents, and 85 percent of teens witness verbal abuse once a game.

        Students should put on their Packer apparel, and go out to a game that they wouldn’t normally go to. If students know that basic rules of the game, they should be able to follow along pretty well and maybe even get into the “Packer Spirit.”