Seventeen. This was the total number of CHS students that watched Clayton’s varsity boys soccer team in a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Vianney on Tuesday night at the season home opener.

Others in attendance eyed the scarce student section throughout the game, hoping for more than an occasional faint cheer. Sadly, the greyhound cheering squad  remained  seated the entirety of the game.

“It’s nice to hear the fans cheering when it’s the last few minutes of a game and everyone’s really tired, they help us keep playing hard,” Senior soccer player Peter Ryfel said.

Why do students not attend these games? Junior Franco Tong who said he rarely attends any athletic events except when he is forced to in pep band. “I don’t think it should be forced on anyone to go to games, some people just do not like sports,” he said.

Although Tong makes a fair point, this issue goes beyond sports. For example, lets say your friend mentions an exhibit that they are in for their art, or a choir performance -sporting events are the same thing.

For many at CHS there is a mentality of ‘why should I care?’. To this, I say there is no difference between seeing the work your fellow classmates have put in, in a classroom or band room or on  a soccer field.

Many students will use their homework load, especially on weeknights, as an excuse for not attending  games. Science teacher Gabe De La Paz said, especially on week nights, homework is a problem, “especially for the kids taking AP Chem and AP Bio, homework is an issue because of the high level of these classes.”

Although these classes put more stress on students after school, these AP classes are scarcely available to underclassmen. However, the majority of students that attend weeknight games are upperclassmen.

This is where the absolute ignorance and predictability of much of the student body comes into play. In this situation, we see the Clayton student philosophy of ‘the grades are what matters’.

Unfortunately, our student body is mostly focused on  what they want to succeed in.  We need to see this as selfish behavior. Especially when the miniscule act of cheering on a fellow classmate at a sporting event can help that classmate gain success in whatever he or she cares about. Not to mention form bonds between students that may have otherwise not met each other.

A student unwilling to come to a game and cheer on their friends and school for two hours after the (at least) three hours a day these players put in to help our school succeed athletically? Ridiculous and selfish.

As Andrew Boeger lined up for a corner kick in the second half of a close game, sweat glistening across his forehead and drenching his white jersey on the humid night, he glanced for a moment into the stands. Of those seated in the CHS student section, three are on their phones, seven aimlessly chat and one is doing homework, beyond that, just line after line of empty silver bleachers.

To be sure, a frustrating sight, for someone who cares not only about the success of our teams, but the overall improvement of the  CHS community.

The final whistle blows and the defeated and exhausted CHS soccer team lugs itself towards the sidelines to the pitiful sound of a few overdue golf claps.