Are High School Sports Overemphasized?
Fans get charged up for PV sports, especially home football games. But should the PV community be paying more attention to the school’s other clubs and activities?
(Brianna Ruback’s opinions are not necessarily those of the The Smoke Signal or its staff. The Smoke Signal welcomes dissenting opinions via Op Eds or letters to the editor.)
Sports. The competition. The thrill. The great anticipation.
Here at Pascack Valley, sports arguably get the most amount of hype. From the weekly colorfully worded, football-oriented mass emails ordering people to scream at games until their voices vanish and wear specified colors, to the student versus faculty athletic events to the ever-so-often clothing sales and fundraisers, it is fair to say that athletics at this school acquire a considerable amount of publicity.
However, is it possible to love something too much?
As we can see, people do possess the appreciation of sports, for the turnouts at several sporting events are quite substantial, particularly football.
It is safe to say there are not hundreds of people watching the other sports and activities participated throughout the week. But why is this the case? Why is the whole school not supporting the other athletes as much as they are the football players?
Pascack Valley junior Hannah Cuesta explained, “There’s more advertising for football with all of the emails and everything.”
Although there are emails sent out about other sports, they do not amount to the ones sent about football. In a sense, the typical Friday afternoon PV football mass email has become a part of the Valley culture.
There is nothing wrong with school spirit and showing support for the school athletics. In fact, it is what keeps the school environment fun and exciting in contrast to the stress of schoolwork, but at times it can be a bit much.
Cassidy Le, who is on the Pascack Valley Regional swim team and is in PV’s marching band, stated, “The whole school mourns if the football team loses, but it’s just a loss.” She went on and said, “You feel the tension in the air.”
It would be a complete and utter lie to say that football games at PV are not held to a great importance. It would just not be true. You see the massive crowd in the stands. You read the emails addressed to the entire school every week. And you certainly hear talk of football scattered throughout the hallways.
“I feel like football is overemphasized because you obviously get a bigger turnout at football games than at any other games,” Cuesta added, “but football isn’t more important than, for example, theatre, or the arts.”
Within the arts at school, there is so much talent, from the artists to the musicians, but the public attention that they receive cannot even compete with what the football team is given.
PV choir member, Joel Noonan, a junior, said, “I feel like we (choir) get good attention from faculty members and (Board of Education) members, especially, but I feel like we can get more attention from students.”
Choir has had to adjust its schedule in accordance to the football games in the evening.
“Our coffeehouse we had two weeks ago, we had to make it a Friday because of the football game on Thursday,” Noonan said. “A lot of times we move around because of the sports. It’s the impression that they’re more important than our events.”
Recently, there was yet another instance where choir and football almost had a conflict. Talent Night, taking place on Oct. 30, was nearly put into jeopardy.
“We heard a rumor that there was a football game moved to Thursday and we were worried that we were going to have to move around it again,” Noonan explained.
However, that was simply a rumor.
Football is not more important than choir. It is not better than choir. Is it just what is valued more at our school?
Keep in mind that this is not to say that football should not be regarded with importance. It is important. As are the countless other sports, clubs and activities that are participated in at school. There does need to be more attention paid to other aspects of the school. Obviously, giving each club and sport the same exact amount of attention is neither feasible nor realistic. People like what they like and they will pay attention to what interests them. However, by shining a spotlight on various activities, instead of just a fixed amount, it will help maintain a better balance in the school, giving people the recognition they truly deserve for all their hard work and efforts.
(Editor’s note: Between when this column was written and when it was published to The Smoke Signal website, PV’s football team advanced to the second round of the state playoffs. Consequently, PV Theatre was forced to cancel the scheduled Friday night performance of its fall drama production, “The Dining Room.”)
Shawn Rowan • Nov 23, 2014 at 8:55 pm
Football and other sports at Pascack Valley are very welled liked. They are an important and well-known part of the popular school culture. However, it seems like some of the other amazing parts of PV are overlooked. For example, the talented 7% of the school population of the school involved with theatre don’t always seem to be recognized by the remaining 93% of the school. Also, the Pascack Pioneers robotics team is always a very successful team but seem to be a bit overlooked by the majority of the school. I’m not trying to say that we should not block out sports from the school culture. I am saying that we should include more clubs such as the arts or the robotics team as a part of popular school culture.
Margaret Capone • Nov 21, 2014 at 8:36 pm
The thing is neither football nor theatre is more important than the other. And choir isn’t more important than basketball and marching band isn’t more important than lacrosse. Although as a member of both choir and theatre, it can at times feels as though we are the less-loved child. I am not placing any blame on the football players themselves or the fans, because I know many people in the stands tonight who are also coming to the Dining Room tomorrow. The only point I want to get across is that it would be nice to get some more recognition for the things we do.
Last year for the PV Theatre season we were nominated for 10 awards of recognition from the MSU Theatre Night Awards and the Helen Hayes Metro Awards, including two honorable mentions from the Papermill Rising Star Awards. And the PV Chamber Choir traveled to Norfolk, Virginia to compete in a national choir competition, in which we placed first. But nobody knows about these things. We didn’t get an email sent out by the administration or an announcement in the morning. But when the football team won the State Championships last year, it was like a week-long celebration. And I mean in no way to downplay the accomplishments of the football team. I know that I cannot do what you do every week in the rain and sometimes bitter cold. But as Tyler Halligan said, I’m pretty sure the football players don’t have the ability to do what I do every day in choir or what I do for 6 months in the theatre. But if they are interested in learning more about we love to do, I invite them to come see what we do. And there is always a chance to see what we love to do at choir concerts and theatre performances. But I have come to accept that this is a football dominated school and the arts do seem to get the short end of the stick. But one thing that I can say, it that I am proud to come from an award-winning school in both the arts and athletics.
Sean Nicklas • Nov 21, 2014 at 2:22 pm
I agree with the author that high school sports are overemphasized. For example, football games. Some clubs have to move their scheduled dates to perform just for the football games so they can get a few member to come. BEcause, a lot of people attend the football games and don’t really attend any other clubs and sports as much. This topic is very controversial, but in my opinion, high school sports, especially football games are overemphasized.
Marc Picinic • Nov 21, 2014 at 1:10 pm
I don’t think that the football team is overemphasized it’s that everything else is underemphasized. One thing that I feel like brings it up is fantasy. Fantasy makes everything more exciting and everyone wants to see how their team did. You control the team on fantasy and you can’t do that for things like plays. People like to control things and they like it when they’re in control because they like to success with something that is theirs. That is my opinion
Mathew Low • Nov 21, 2014 at 1:09 pm
I belong to both the pv theatre and robotics. Both clubs assigned dates to wear the clubs respective shirts to advertise them and both clubs have had to move these dates due to interference with football. I believe that while football is an important sport and had left its mark in pv history other activities deserve to be in the spotlight.
Nathan Porter • Nov 21, 2014 at 1:09 pm
The fact is that all the animosity, regardless of whether this article is speaking to all sports and clubs, is all being directed towards the football team. This is unfair as we have no say in the change or cancellation of any other events. Many of the football players attend the events of other sports teams or clubs. The football team is being chastised and we haven’t done anything except play the game we all enjoy. It’s unfair. We support all other PV clubs and sports.
Josiah Stankus • Nov 21, 2014 at 1:08 pm
I think that while football does have a lot of attention, I think its good. At the games, there are not only one but many things taking place. Ex: the student gov sells snacks for people to eat, there is the football team, there are cheerleaders, the marching band, and you can talk with friends, whereas at plays and choir events you have to be quiet and pay attention, and there is just one thing happening. You just watch the person singing or the people saying their lines. I understand that the choir and arts do get way too few attention, but the arts are for people that have long attention spans, and they are only for people who like the arts. On a friday night, most high schoolers don’t want to sit in a theatre all night listening to someone sing. They want to get out and have fun and go to a football game, and chill with friends. If the football crowd came to the choir and arts events, they would be loud and noisy and disrespectful, because it is a friday and they just want to chill and talk. Therefore, while the football team does receive a little too much attention, I feel everything is ok the way it is.
Kyle Ricco • Nov 21, 2014 at 12:41 pm
After reading the article, “are high school sports overemphasized”, it explains that school football is overpowered and too much focused on I would like to disagree. Friday night football is the highlight of many of our weeks. After a long hard working week of work, tests, and projects we need to get out all that stress. What better way it there the football games. We go crazy and get hyped over watching our team going to the next round in states or beating our rivals. And also it is not the football team’s fault that some students would rather watch their team’s competitive football match than a school play. Mrs. Ruback had a great point that the other clubs deserve some gratitude for all their hard work they have done, they do deserve recognition, but it is hard to change the way students feel about what they want to watch. Our PV football is a love many students and faculty all share. Things like theatre and art are very different. Although it is beautiful and amazing it is hard to drag a student to see art or the play. People just want to wathc football moee then mny other of the clubs. And also, when Mrs. Ruback explained that our football lovers send out many colorful emails about the big game next week. People could do that for drama or the arts to and it may help considering how many people it made want to go to the football games. That is why I have to disagree with Mrs.Ruback, but thankyou for listening.
Ashley Walker • Nov 21, 2014 at 12:13 pm
In my opinion I disagree because it’s not the football players fault that football is more popular. Everyone is into sports but not everyone is into the other clubs. Football is a very important part of the american culture and people tend to love the games. Other clubs are as important BUT they aren’t as popular. Also the football schedules are made in advance and you can’t reschedule a game unless there is a storm. Also the common interest of high school students is to watch and enjoy football games. I agree the games aren’t more important than other activities or sports, but i believe it is not the football players fault that their sport is the most popular to support.
Tiffany Lowe • Nov 26, 2014 at 11:11 am
As stated above numerous times, no one is saying that it’s the football players fault. It’s not there fault at all. They chose to play football, and they work incredibly hard to become as good as they are. No one is saying that the football players aren’t good at what they do, and no one is saying that they shouldn’t be rewarded and recognized for their hard work; they should. And while I agree that football is more popular than some of the other clubs here at PV (that is what this article is about, after all) I do not agree that “Everyone is into sports, but not everyone is into the other clubs.” Not everyone is into sports; not everyone goes to the football games. It’s not up to you to say what people can and can’t enjoy. Additionally, while the football schedule is made in advance, so are all of the schedules for other activities. Choir, for example, has their entire year planned out in June. We have events planned months in advance, so why should we have to change our pre-planned dates for their pre-planned games? We shouldn’t. Again, no one is saying that the football players are at fault. It just happens that more often than not they have the spotlight on them, regardless of the other club’s accomplishments.
Sage Shapiro • Nov 21, 2014 at 11:13 am
I understand the opinions supporting our football team, but I honestly think it’s hogging all the attention. Yes, I know they work hard and are also pretty good. However, there are many other clubs and teams in PV and they are barely getting any attention for their achievements! For example, the Cross Country team won their league for the first time in almost 20 years, and they got like, a sentence on the announcements. There are countless occasions where this unfairness is demonstrated. Seriously, FOOTBALL IS NOT EVERYTHING. God, it’s just some people giving each other concussions while throwing an oddly shaped ball.
Rima Kaddouh • Nov 20, 2014 at 10:26 pm
I love football. It’s one of my favorite sports to watch. The thrill of it is amazing and we have an amazing team here at PV. We have so many hardworking and dedicated sports teams, but we also have so many hardworking and dedicated clubs. The play is an example of that. Students work their butts off for the play to be ready and as good as it always is and football players do the same to be able to play as well as they do. I’ve seen two PV plays and both were unbelievable and I’m excited to go and see this year’s play. I’ve heard some parents even say that PV’s plays go above and beyond just a high school play and they’re shocked at the level of talent. The play’s cast and crew work for months on the play and a lot of the time they’re coming home at 10 at night. Their rehearsals are like practices and their plays are like games. Although If I’m going to be honest a lot of people appreciate sports more than the arts and you can’t do anything about it. This is America and favoritism is unavoidable. People have the freedom to enjoy what they want. I don’t think sports are as much overemphasized but rather that maybe the play could have been emphasized more. I will say though that football is definitely the most hyped sport and activity and it’s understandable, but other sports and activities deserve attention too. I went to a tennis match once to cheer on my friend and it honestly didn’t even feel like they were playing for the school. I was the only one there with a couple of friends and it was as if the tennis team was a rec team formed by the town and only the parents were there to watch and cheer their kids on. There’s never going to be an equal amount of spirit for sports and the arts because people like what they like, but we can at least try a little harder to give everything and everyone the credit that they deserve.
Henry Tipping • Nov 20, 2014 at 8:16 pm
I disagree that high school sports are overemphasized. First of all, there are many other activities in the school that get almost the same amount of attention. Even though on social networks and on the school mass emails, people talk all about the football games every Friday but it is not overemphasized. The Friday games have become a Valley ritual and everyone asks, Are you going to the football game tonight?” when people ask the same exact thing about going to the plays and other valley events. This argument was brought up due to the fact that our football games have such large crowds when the real reason why we have the large crowds is our spirit and the fact that our varsity team is one of the best in the state not because it’s a sport. The games are important because our school’s team is a great team and people are proud of it. In conclusion, high school sports are not over emphasized.
Veronica Carbonell • Nov 20, 2014 at 2:49 pm
I do very much enjoy going to football games and cheering on PV and most other people would agree, I just think that we need to give other clubs more attention and they are all very well deserving of our attention. I am in theatre and choir and the amount of time and effort put into the the shows and the concerts is incredible, not to say that the football team doesn’t put in 110% in their craft because it’s clear that they do. I know its impossible that all clubs are giving the same amount of attention, I just strongly agree that anybody who is in any other club or sport and I don’t just mean theatre and choir is given the recognition they deserve.
Tyler Halligan • Nov 20, 2014 at 9:07 am
As a prideful PV student, I can proudly say I support our football team 100% in their accomplishments. I try as much as I can to get out to games and cheer alongside my fellow classmates to the excitement of the game. But, I also participate in our school’s theatre department. I don’t expect students to be breaking down our doors to see our shows, but as I see it, theatre is our sport. Even when we are outside the auditorium, we are still practicing lines, taking voice lessons, having dance rehearsal, and overall practicing our craft. It’s our equivalent to the weight room. When you see one of our shows its not just us up there reading lines in pretty costumes, it is the accumulation of weeks worth of work. Every step, line, movement, and expression you see on stage is premeditated by every actor on stage, and takes weeks to prefect. Just as when a football player runs down the field, its not just him running randomly hoping he’ll eventually score. We all work on our craft , and we all are proud of our accomplishments, there is no club or activities that is better than the other.
I would just like to point out that this debate is not over who’s more “talented” or whose popularity is more “deserving”. The football team deserves every fan out in that stadium, because in reality, I could never do what they do out there. But on the flip side, they probably can’t do what I do on stage either. Both are talented, both are deserving, and most importantly both should just appreciate what the other one gives. Art and Sports both bring excitement and entertainment to the students of Pascack Valley, and that’s never going to change. All this debate is proving is that both sports AND arts have something to cheer about.
Nina Henry • Nov 20, 2014 at 9:51 am
I definitely agree with you.
I noticed this morning on the morning announcements, everyone was loudly talking over the announcement that told students about the play and how to buy tickets. When an announcement came on announcing the details of admission to Friday’s football game, everyone listened silently with rapt attention. I think that’s pretty typical of our school’s attitude.
It’s opening night, and very few people seem to even know the name of our play. I’m not saying that the student body is callous or unkind, but I think so many art classes and programs are simply ignored.
Julia Padovan • Nov 19, 2014 at 11:24 pm
We as a school and community should have pride toward our football team and root for them to win and make it to the championship each year. That is a completely justified way that the student body should be thinking. They should be attending these events. What the article is trying to pull attention to is that we are always saying that we have the outmost amount of pride at PV, however we mostly show it when it comes to football. It has become a part of our culture to the point where even if you don’t enjoy football that much you go to the games. I personally went to 3/4 of the games last year, not only because I knew a player or cheerleader (which admittedly, I did, however if I had not I would’ve went anyway, and that was the case for some of my friends) but because itis like a practice at Pascack Valley. I remember not being able to go, and a senior in one of my classes saying something like: “If you don’t go to the football games, you don’t belong at PV.” I don’t blame that specific senior or any specific member or group of the student body for this because we have become accustomed to that. It’s a fact that PV football gets the most funding out of all other PV sports and clubs. Most of PVTheatre’s funding comes from ticket sales. In addition, last year the girls’ freshman softball coach had to buy softballs with money out of her pocket because the school board didn’t provide that money. Again, the football coaches and players are not at all at fault for that. They have about as much power as anyone else on the topic, however, we should at least be aware of that. The point is, we should at least bring light to the fact that football has become emphasized, at least more emphasized than the arts and other PV sports. I understand that not everyone has an interest in the arts and other sports, but if we are going to say that we are so prideful in every sports’ and club’s achievements, really prove it by supporting not only what is popular school wide– but everything you have a personal interest in and time for.
Lukas Kruegle • Nov 19, 2014 at 10:46 pm
Quick point that should be made for all who wish to comment. This is not meant to be only about Theatre and the arts, this is even about other sports and clubs. The point isn’t that Football is negatively impacting anything or anyone, just simply that life at PV is largely centered around Football and there is an imbalance in attention, that is all.
Matthew Ziccarelli • Nov 19, 2014 at 6:48 pm
I don’t believe high school sports are overemphasized as in this case football. For one reason football has always been the backbone of Pascack Valley. That’s not just for student that’s for parents too. It has become a tradition for most people to come out on Friday nights and support their team. Also, our football team here at Pascack Valley has high expectations every year to reach the championship game and take home the trophy. This makes me feel that I should be supporting the team along with everybody else to bring them back to MetLife Stadium. Finally, no one is forcing anyone to go anywhere, its what people like which in this case is football.
Tiana Giovatto • Nov 19, 2014 at 2:45 pm
I disagree with the article on the pv smoke signal. The football players have nothing to do with it, I think it is more the fans that make it a big event at PV. The mass emails are sent from fans but personally there has been mass emails for fans to come out like volleyball and boys soccer but in the end it is the preference of the crowd in the stands. In America football is the most popular sport watched, so I think since it is a well liked sport in general it would be understandable it is a popular school event to take part of. Another factor is that our football team is very good and deserves our support in the stands while they play. You can’t make someone come to a theater play because they might not be interested in that. And no one ever said it was mandatory to come to the football games.
Lukas Kruegle • Nov 19, 2014 at 4:19 pm
The point of this article is not to attack the players or even the fans of the sport. As the article reflects, the football following at PV (and other High Schools around the country) often times dilutes the saturation of support for other clubs. Under no circumstances should people be encouraged not to support the Football team or to not go to their games. Though I myself do not frequent football games, I do support the team and am proud of our school when they do win. However, this does not negate the fact that the football team’s popularity will often draw attention from the other groups in the school that also deserve such a high degree of support (see Calvin’s comment above). The article is not attacking the football team, just pointing out the inequality that has grown and become more apparent in PV culture.
Regina Guzzo • Nov 19, 2014 at 6:49 pm
“You can’t make someone come to a theater play because they might not be interested in that.” Well you also cannot force me to scream at the top of my lungs at a football game because I may not be into losing my voice.
This argument could go back and forth for ages, in all honesty. I personally find it hilarious that those who favor football will not admit that we are in a football dominated school. It’s not a bad thing that we are football dominated, but it should at least be acknowledged.
Calvin Rezen • Nov 19, 2014 at 1:32 am
As it is stated by Ms. Santo, some of the comments above are simply misinformed. PV Theatre and Choir have both had to either cancel or move performances to accommodate our champion football team. We do this not out of being ordered by school administration but rather out of common courtesy to both the football team and to potential audience members of our shows. Might not seem like a big deal to some, but can anyone imagine if the cleat were on the other foot, so to speak, and if a football playoff game would be CANCELED, (not just rescheduled) because of a school play?
We are so proud of our teams and excited to brag about the school’s successes on the field, but what Brianna’s article means to indicate is not that members of the football team are responsible for the marginalization of other clubs at the school, but rather to bring attention to the masses that other successes are being marginalized and we may be lacking a proper balance.
For example, did you know that Theatre is the largest club in the school with 75 students working on this Fall’s production? Did you know that the average cast/crew member spends more than 200 hours prepping and rehearsing for performances over the course of a single weekend? Did you know that in the past few years, PV Theatre has been nominated and/or awarded more that 50 times by prestigious organizations such as the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards, the MSU Theater Awards and The Metro Theatre Awards? Or perhaps if you’d like to look at PV’s Chamber Choir, you might see that in the last two years we have been awarded 1st place gold awards in multiple categories at more than five choral festivals at both regional and national levels. (A sports equivalent would be being named, All-conference, or All-County.)
Most PV Students would answer ‘no’ to these questions, not because they are not proud of the achievements of these two large artistic communities in the school, but because the culture at our school dictates that we value other things more. I know as a member of the arts my nepotism is visible, however, I am also acutely aware that this thorough dissatisfaction runs through the green and white veins of all seemingly secondary teams and clubs. Whether we can blame the ignorance of the general student body, the faculty or the administration for this poisonous and indifferent culture is unclear. Nonetheless, I’m grateful for the opportunity the Smoke Signal—another dissevering and valid club in our school—has given us to open this dialogue. It’s time to start being supportive and prideful for ALL the great accomplishments of our students, no matter what team or club.
With the notion of support in mind, Thursday night and Saturday performances of A. R. Gurney’s The Dinning Room have not been cancelled, so our PV Community can support BOTH football on Friday night and enjoy the play too. Tickets for students are only $5 either online at http://www.pvhstheatre.com or at the door. I hope to see you all there.
I know they say dress nicely to the theatre, but green and white should suffice. It’s in our blood after all.
Lukas Kruegle • Nov 19, 2014 at 10:57 pm
The average cast or crew member spends around 200 hours prepping for the performances which are held over the course of one weekend. Yes, the Football team preps over the summer and spends countless hours practicing and training, but they also have multiple games over the course of their season. Our “season” is just one weekend.
Laura Santo • Nov 18, 2014 at 8:26 am
I realize that football is important. I get it. There’s something exciting about it. It’s conveniently placed a majority of the time on Friday nights, and it really boosts PV Pride. Football has great esteem in our school, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. What I do believe is wrong is the idea of other clubs having to switch around their schedules to make way for football. For example, PVTheatre has not been able to perform their Friday night shows because of football. The dates for the fall play are set in the calendar at the beginning of the school year, but it’s common knowledge among the theatre kids that if the football team does well (which we normally do) there is likely to be a playoff game on the night of our show. We are not ignorant, we realize that if there’s a playoff game at home, no one is going to come to our shows, so for the past three years we have had to cancel one of our four shows. Theatre isn’t like football. We do not play as many “games” as you, and I daresay the amount of kids who put hours and hours of work into our show is a good times more than who’s on the field. And that’s fine. You do what you do. We do what we do. However, I think that the fact that we have to cancel our previously arranged performance for your playoff game is unfair. Regardless of the vastness of your fan base in comparison to ours, we put as much effort into our work as you put into yours, and I presume that you’re as proud as your work as we are of ours. I want to be clear that I am not in any way saying that the football team is at fault for this, but merely explaining that this is the case for clubs other than choir as well, and that though my opinion is biased, I do not believe that this is fair.
Mike Pimpinella • Nov 17, 2014 at 2:16 pm
Hey, Not Cool!
Joe Figueroa • Nov 17, 2014 at 12:52 pm
No emails have been sent out for 4 weeks about the football games and no football player has ever sent out an email telling people to come to our games this year. The fact that fans send out the emails to come to our games is not our fault. This article makes it seem like the football games are forcing events for the arts to be moved which isn’t true. We had nothing to do with the moving of the “Coffeehouse”. Our games times and place are normally set in february so if things overlap thats not our problem. You painted us in a bad light and its not fair that because football is an exciting sport to watch and many students and parents and members of the community come to our games every friday night we should be ridiculed for almost stealing the spot light. We work hard and play hard and win games and people like to come watch high school football; that does not mean we are more important people just enjoy to watch what we do more than most other school events.
Colin Dedrick • Nov 17, 2014 at 11:50 am
Why are you completely firing shots at the football team? You make it seem like its our fault, we didn’t ask for it. Sorry.