Though Angela Adamo may have been right in questioning the lack of school spirit at school, it’s entertaining to look back and see that the school has done some serious student renovation since the 1980s. Now, when presented with the question, “Does Plant have school spirit?” students can answer without a doubt “yes.””

But how do we maintain such an impressive amount of spirit, and why were people concerned about a lack for spirit 20 years ago? Well, the 2014 football sea- son may have ended, but looking back at the team’s impressive re- cord is alone enough to draw in the crowd of students that are regularly attending games.

In fact, this isn’t limited to just this past season. Looking back in the record books shows that head coach Robert Weiner’s Panthers have been dominant since 2005, and since 2006 have finished every season with 10 or more wins under their belt.

To go along with this are four state championships to show that there are truly a force to be reckoned with.

Another factor that could be contributed to this large amount of team support is simply the enrollment of over 2,000 students that Plant has. Combine such an impressive showing of actual gameplay with a notably large enrollment number and it’s easy to see why the student section is filled with spirited high schoolers ready to erupt at any touchdown or fantastic play.

However, despite the impressive showing of school spirit the school has for the football team, it’s hard to argue that this support ranges outside of football. With student sections completely packed at football games, it’s sometimes odd to go to another sporting event and witness the minuscule crown of a few parents and close friends.

Lack of students at other sports games as opposed to large amount of football games os simple to explain, however, and it all really all comes down to three reasons as to why people won’t show up to a random game or meet.

The first reason is simply that some students simply enjoy the sport more. Football, especially when your school spirit can almost look to been behind a dominant football team, is to most people simply an enjoyable sport to watch. It’s an extremely popular sport in this region of the United States, and people are fans of teams all the way down to the high school level, which shows not only through Plant, but also through the fact that some major high school football events are shown on major broadcasting networks such as ESPN at times.

The second reason is that a lack of initial and steady attendance leads to a growth in spirit for that sport and eventually a lack of hype and additional fan attendance. Most situations of sports not receiving good support are due to most students not wanting to go because nobody they know plays and nobody they know is going, which ultimately causes a chain of students that don’t go, and a drop in attendance.

However, since football games already have a large attendance and are known for a massive student section, most students will go as they want to be part of a large crowd, not a small one.

Finally, most students simply enjoy going to football games more due to an unchanging element which connects with the last two things mentioned: the time of the games. Friday nights are the perfect time to schedule an event, and football games are truly given the primetime spot. Coming out of a week of school pays off with a home game at the end of it, where it seems not only like the kickoff to a football game, but a kickoff to the weekend.

Next time someone asks how amped up Plant’s student section is or how spirited Plant’s school is in general, be proud to posses the ability to answer positively to all of those questions.

To go to school in which people have the spirit to cause the student section to roar and be heard across the neighborhoods a mile away, in which people have the spirit to crowd the restaurants across Dale Mabry after a game, in which people have the spirit to drive up to Orlando, witness a loss and are so heartbroken by the sea- son ending that they break down and cry as if they lost a loved one, that’s some school spirit to have pride about.