Sports have always been a large part of high school. Whether it’s cheering in the student section at the football games or wearing a team uniform proudly, we covet our widely-loved sports.

 

All fun and games, right?

 

But lying under the surface, beneath the pep rallies and the sold-out games, some sports are not getting the attention and coverage they deserve. 

 

Some sports receive more recognition in the school regardless of whether or not their season has gone well.

 

In the end, no matter how well the bowling team does, more people will still show up at the football field than they will at the bowling lane.

 

We have pep rallies for the basketball and football games, but none for any other sport.

 

We cheered for the boys soccer team before states, but what did we do when volleyball had their district finals that same weekend? Or when the equestrian team went to states earlier in the year? 

 

As a school, we put a heavier emphasis on the “bigger” sports (football, basketball, and soccer), but we all too often forget about the others.

 

You can probably remember the last time you went to a football game, but when was the last time you went to a tennis match, a golf tournament, or a swim meet? 

 

A lot of this is due to tradition. We tend to stay in our ways, year after year emphasizing the same sports. And over time, certain sports have become glorified. 

 

Even the uniforms show glorification of certain sports. 

 

Take, for example, the football team’s uniforms. They have three different jerseys: one for home games, one for away games, and an alternate jersey for special occasions like Homecoming and playoffs.

 

Is it necessary? Why do the students who play football have three jerseys while other student athletes only have one?

 

Is it because football draws more of a crowd? Is there more money involved?

 

This problem of unequal coverage and recognition occurs outside of Mason High School as well.

 

The “Big Three” sports (men’s football, basketball, and baseball) dominate our television broadcasts and conceal the accomplishments of other sports.

 

According to the nonprofit organization Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), these sports represented 75 percent of last year’s sports coverage on local network affiliates and Sports Center.

 

While it does make sense to give more attention and coverage to sports that bring in more money, this idea actually diminishes and degrades other sports’ successes.

 

Some athletes of “smaller” sports put just as much or more effort into practices and games as the “big sport” athletes do. Do we even notice?

 

If equal coverage and recognition is ever going to occur within the high school or in the outside world, covering sports based on tradition and money involved is not the way to go. We can’t focus on the larger, more popular sports at the expense of the smaller ones.

 

Instead, there needs to be a focus on each sport’s merit and success level.

 

If we as a student body start focusing on this, there would be a stronger sense of community within the high school. There would be a higher sense of esteem for the individual athletes. And just imagine how well our teams could do with a crowd cheering them on. 

 

By working toward more equality between the sports teams, MHS can begin to change how sports are treated in the broader world.

 

It all starts here.