Friday night football games make up the majority of my freshman year memories. The black and gold crowd, the golden girls, and the smell of hot dogs remain fresh in my memory. Armed with an OHS tigers shirt and painted in stripes, someone could always find me at the home football games. In fact you could find the entire school seated in the Tiger Cage section. But a lot of things have changed since my freshman year. If you had gone to a home football game this past Fall, all you would have seen were vacant seats that used to house some of the most spirited students at OHS.
School spirit seems as though it left with the graduating class of 2008. While there are some students who embody the the idea of “school spirit”, they cheer with a tiny crowd.
It is very disappointing to me when I think back to the countless Fridays that I would listen to the 2008 seniors ( students, football players and golden girls alike) talk about how pumped they were for the game. Hearing them excited made me even more excited to experience the games. It is especially disappointing when I realize that I have not heard anyone say they were excited for a football game in over three years.
While many say that school spirit has always been dwindling, I disagree. I believe there was true school spirit my freshman year. As thankful as I am to the students who have tried to keep the pride alive, I fear OHS will never get the spirit it deserves.
High school only lasts four very short years. There are only so many opportunities to experience these games before we graduate. Students need to re-learn how to take pride in their school. As awful as some of the people here are, and as strict as the school rules can be, it doesn’t mean we can not show our support for each other. It doesn’t mean we have to be ashamed to wear black and gold.
For those you who will be coming back next year, restore the pride I felt my freshman year. Take advantage of the opportunity to be proud of your school. Support the teams and take pride in being an Oakville tiger because your time here is limited. You won’t be a tiger forever.
