Benilde-St. Margaret’s sports have proven to be staples in Minnesota. With many state championships from each sport under the BSM name we are a sporting powerhouse in the state of Minnesota. Unfortunately, our student section dampens school spirit at games. This year especially, it tends to be smaller and more quiet which results in less support for their team, less community involvement and bonding which can make a sport less fun for the fans and players.

The BSM student section used to be much stronger, many students believe that our student section has recently been falling behind those of schools which we compete with in near areas such as Wayzata and Edina because of our school spirit status. “I think our student section is actually worse than most. I think even at most of our home games the away team tends to have a better student section when it comes to chants and support. The other schools also seem to get more rowdy and active with jumping up and down and helping their team win,” junior Gus Bell said.

A more electric community is something BSM students want. Students believe there is missing energy and pride in our community. Our school needs something that creates a spark of spirit and family feeling. Luckily our school just introduced a new mascot. “I think having this mascot will make the school sports games more fun and cool. I think our student sections will be better in the future because of things like this,” junior Gus Bell said.

Some students think administrators place too many restrictions on behavior in the student section. Students feel discouraged when their chants get shut down, and this is not uncommon at BSM. “Administrators sure do restrict what is said at games. They’re very strict with us and we can’t get rowdy and devious. That kind of atmosphere brings no excitement to our school. This also holds a lot of people back from going to the games.,” senior Roan Ritzer said.

Another reason for the sub par student sections have to do with the lack of leaders in the crowd. Since bigger sports have many loud and social kids on the team, it is hard to make a good student section that is missing those louder, rowdier students “I think the bigger the sport, the bigger the student section. Football and hockey are always packed I think.The problem with this is that most of the big senior guy leaders are on the team. Most other kids are more passive and less loud. We have had really big and good student sections before actually, but it is only when the popular leaders at our school run the show,” senior Ella Cantwell said.