It’s the Melvin J. Berman vs. CESJDS showdown. There are competing cheers from both sides and fans are dressed up in their schools’ spirit colors. So many students and parents are gathered in the gym that they are separated into respective sections. Everyone had to buy a ticket to regulate the high quantity of people in the gym.
While I never specified which Berman vs. JDS game I was referring to, the Berman vs. JDS basketball games are the only games that experience this level of spirit. There are never competing chants on the soccer field or large crowds of fans congregating at tennis matches. This creates a disparity between basketball and other sports teams.
There are significantly fewer people showing up to Berman vs. JDS tennis matches, volleyball games and baseball games, accompanied by little fan spirit. There are sprinklings of supportive parents, close friends of players and a handful of JDS students, but it pales in comparison to the crowds at basketball games. While the winter brings a longer season and less time dedicated to outdoor sports, there is no good reason why fans shouldn’t show the same support for other sports teams that they show for basketball.
There is so much to celebrate about all JDS sports teams. Numerous stellar athletes are breaking records on the track and cross country teams, being recruited to Division I schools and starring in ESPN documentaries. It is time that the JDS community brings the same energy to sports besides basketball to celebrate the wins that are on the tennis courts, race tracks, dance floors, swimming pools and baseball fields.
The athletic department has been making an active effort to bring opportunities that the basketball team has had access to, such as new tournaments added to the calendar. Some of these tournaments are the soccer and volleyball tournament that was held at Beth Tfiloh this fall and the National Conference of Synagogue Youth (NCSY) softball tournament. The biggest addition has been the new Student Athlete Advisory Committee which is working to bring more attention to all sports.
“One of the tasks they [the Student Athlete Advisory Committee] have this fall is trying to increase senior night into a Senior Week, and do more spirit things,” Director of Athletics Becky Silberman said. “So they helped…they made sure we got certain things. We had an ice cream truck come out. They did trivia at halftime and gave out shirts at the soccer game, things like that that we have the resources to do.”
Our community must channel the same spirit they bring to basketball, to all sports teams, supporting all types of athletes. I absolutely love dressing in blue, yellow or white and spending time with my friends cheering on fellow athletes. It would be extraordinarily beneficial to the JDS athletics community to bring that energy to other sports events year-round. We know what it looks like to lift a JDS sports team and create an environment that fans appreciate.
It is time we drive out on the weekend to support our soccer teams. It is time we don yellow and blue at the next volleyball game. It is time we rally our friend groups around attending a baseball game on a Tuesday night. It is time we give our sports teams the same energy we bring to basketball games to fully embrace the power of the JDS athletic community.
