High school sporting events are a national treasure. The roar of crowd in the stands, the athletes pouring their heart into their sport. People of all ages attend games, from grandparents to youth sports players. Many show up to watch these athletes perform.

These sporting events are one of the great things about Issaquah High School. We have a history of successful sports teams, and regardless of what the event is, we are considered one of the sports powerhouses. Our consistently successful programs help bring large numbers to our events, and having winning programs brings even more.

About three-quarters of the Issaquah student body will attend some form of game during the year, with football being the most popular event by far. Every student interviewed said that they attended at least one football game per year. However, their responses were different when it came to why they attend the games. Freshman Sasank Gopisetti stated that he goes to “every football game, home basketball games, and occasional soccer matches, because I like the atmosphere of the games.”

The atmosphere of the games seems to be a large reason why people go to games. But what goes on during the games? Sophomore Erik Bennett said that he enjoys how the games have a lot of open space, so people are able to socialize. He loves how the concessions offer a large variety of candy, entrees, and drinks, but that one of the things that they could do better was to “offer more vegetarian and vegan options.”

Another large reason behind students going is supporting their friends and family on the field. Senior Kaleb Aho states “Football team is my friends,” as many of his good friends are on the team, which is why he attends every game. Another one of his reasons was because he really wants to see, “Number 28, and number 16 touch the field. It will be a really special occasion when they do.” He says that because number 28 and 16 are two of his very good friends that may not get to play a lot, and he really wants to see them play under the lights.

One of the things the school could do better in terms of promoting the lesser attended sports was to get the school talking about them, and to promote them on iVision. Junior Noelle Foster, states that “bringing the same amount of hype to Tennis as to Football would help increase viewership.” She also believes that if iVision talked about them more on a daily basis, then more people would know about them and go to them.

While there are many students that attend games, there are also students that do not attend games. Senior Isabel Hsien says that she may attend sporting events if the school offered, “sports that I am more interested watching, fencing for example.” The only reason she would attend a sports event would be if she had many friends going, and nothing else to do.

Junior Ross Hammerlee says that he spends a majority of his time doing other things higher up on his priority than going to sports games. “I don’t have enough time, I am either working or doing other hobbies, I would much rather play [Rainbow 6] Siege with the boys,” he says. Homework also has a large impact upon whether students go to games. However, most of the time people do not go because they are not interested or attracted by the atmosphere these games create.

Issaquah High School has a diverse student body. Many students attend all sorts of different events, while some students also do not attend for various reasons. The atmosphere that high school sports bring is infectious and draws people to them. The best way for IHS to increase attendance at lesser viewed sports would be to recreate the atmosphere, as that is where the fans appear to get the most fun.