I am an Appalachian
student.
I am also a Carolina fan.
That said, I do know that supporting my local athletic teams is
as important, if not more important, than cheering on the Tar Heels.
The hottest news topic in this newspaper in recent past has been
the issue of the new athletic proposal and its effects on student
fees.
I have read countless articles and a few letters to the editor that
bad-mouth that plan, and I am outraged at the publicity this proposal
is receiving. For Appalachian to expand as a school the athletics
programs are going to have to grow as well.
The addition of the George M. Holmes Convocation Center is the best
thing to happen to our basketball team. One problem: No students
go to games. I am not talking about the few students that show up
to almost every game and support the Mountaineers. I applaud y’all.
I am talking about the student basketball fans that don’t get
off their lazy butts and go see the Mountaineers because they are
watching Duke, Carolina or some other school down the mountain.
The home game against Charlotte had a big turnout, maybe the biggest
since Chapel Hill was here, but the triple overtime victory by Appalachian
could have been supported more. (Yes, the paper was there, but it
was past deadline; thanks for coming out Ryan Satterfield).
Our athletics programs are in a bit of a catch-22 on this issue
because students do not support teams in Boone. More fans would
lead to better attendance (obviously), but it would also lead to
better recruiting classes and even bigger opponents.
There is no reason our basketball teams should not have a huge fan
base. NONE.
The same goes for football, soccer, baseball or maybe even field
hockey. Fans simply do not come out to support the school so much
of their money goes to every year. Then these same students gripe
about how bad our teams are without truly knowing anything about
them.
As for this new proposal students are so adamant to turn down, I
think the expansion of Kidd Brewer Stadium is going to be great
for our athletics programs as well as our school.
Growth is inevitable. Since my admittance to this school, construction
has been more common than my attendance in class. The convocation
center, the parking deck, the CAP building, the Living Learning
Center and the beginning of other projects have all occurred in
the five short years since my arrival.
Just as students had no say in these buildings, we have no real
impact on what happens with this athletic proposal. It is very unfortunate
that some think because students oppose this issue it will not happen,
because Kidd Brewer will be expanded and Varsity Gym will become
a state-of-the-art weight training facility.
It bothers me when someone poses an argument when they have no stand
on the issue, and many Appalachian students are doing that very
thing. I say if you want to complain about how bad our teams are
then do so, but if you aren’t at the games supporting the black
and gold you will don at your graduation then you have no voice
to me. And you might as will save your breath, because Duke and
Carolina have enough fans that actually attend those schools. |
