All over Etowah High School’s campus, students and teachers can agree on one thing: football season is the root of school spirit. From Aug. to Nov., Etowah Pride is at an all-time high with football games every Friday, spirit week, weekly themes, and homecoming back-to-back; however, when football ends, it all comes to a sudden stop, that leaves the rest of the school year feeling almost empty.  

“It feels weird at the end of the year. At the beginning of the year, there is so much excitement and fun, and once the football season ends, it all just disappears until next year,” Rodrigo Oros, senior, said. 

During the second half of the school year, lacrosse, baseball, basketball, and soccer games make their way onto the Etowah calendar, replacing football and volleyball. However, for some students, it is clear these do not bring out the same excitement. The bleachers during these games are not nearly as full as football games, and the sports do not have the same amount of advertising or roll out.  

“It feels unfair. The football players get full bleachers, concessions, and music, but we do not get any of that. It is pretty unfair,” Alfredo Gonzales, junior and soccer player, said.  

One idea being discussed among Etowah students involved in second-semester sports is possibly reorganizing the school sports calendar to accommodate weather, playing time, and overall student excitement. By placing outdoor second-semester sports in the first semester and first semester sports in the second semester, not only would students appreciate them, but the players would as well. An example of which is soccer players being on the field for 90 minutes, as they are forced to play out in the cold longer than the football players, (whose playing-time is only typically 60 minutes.) Students often overlook these sports events, as they are coupled with colder weather and Etowah’s much lesser focus on second semester athletics. 

“Putting football at the end of the school year would be so much better. Practicing in December, and playing in, like, February or March sounds much better,” Zahmir Baldwin, junior and football player, said. 

In a perfect world, a reworked calendar with sports in first semester switched out with sports in the second semester would leave students closing out the end of the school year with a united sense of school spirit to head into summer vacation with.