Two Points of View
Two staff members of the student newspaper, The Owl, were allowed to go to the first three football games of the 2020-2021 school year. While watching the same game, their points of view are greatly influenced by how they perceive their surroundings. Here’s what they both took from that night.
September 11, 2020
Ally: With our first game against South Dearborn, the atmosphere was very different from any previous game. The band was at the west end of the field with the color guard right beside them. With no student section and limited fans, it was quieter and more open feeling compared to a loud, jam-packed stand. As someone who has gone to many sports games in the past, it seemed as though the teams lacked a willingness to play their best. This presents the question: are fans and noise needed for the players to perform passionately? The game was back and forth all night; it made it seem like the game was going nowhere.
Before the game, I had the opportunity to watch the band warm-up. While still being inside, band members socially distanced and wore masks when not playing. Watching the skill and time that goes into a halftime show gave me a new-found respect for the band. I recommend watching the pregame warm-up in front of the school to show support. They start to play at 6:15 and it’s free to watch.
The second game of the season started slightly worse. On the first running play, Jeffersonville scored a touchdown. Though we played better than against South Dearborn, our offense appeared to not be on the same page when running plays. It started to sprinkle around the second quarter but did not lessen the mood of the fans. A vivid rainbow appeared over the stadium and brought smiles to fans’ faces. The cheerleaders and color guard brought noise and rallied the fans. Still, we sadly lost again, 7-21.
At our most recent game versus Madison, many people were not following social distancing or wearing face masks. Still the atmosphere was buzzing with excitement. One could feel that this would be our game. Our defense held the other team back and prevented them from scoring the whole game. Our offense seemed to be on the same page and played more as a team. Our kicker, Caleb Elliott, scored on most, if not all, of his kicks during the game. We played more strategically this game than the first two. With a score of 36-0, the Seymour Owls brought in the first win of the season. Hopefully, we can keep playing as we did for the rest of the season.
Andrew: Our first two varsity football games of the season were against South Dearborn with a losing score of 36-21 and 21-7 with the Owls unfortunately losing to Jeffersonville. The Owls completely destroyed Madison with a score of 0-36. We were extremely happy about this game because it was the first one of the season that we have won. Although people were not directly allowed in unless you were a parent of the team, we managed to get ourselves into the arena with staff passes provided for the school’s newspaper.
The seats were almost filled with the parents of the team, with the other side being almost too full for anyone else to join. Our concession stands were still open with social distancing and wearing face masks still being a protocol. The band members were additionally socially distanced from each other with the cheerleaders also following the same protocol with most of the team also wearing face masks. The only problem that I would have to address is that the opposing team’s fans were, in fact, not wearing any face masks nor social distancing. If we had to do it, then why did they not do it either?
The environment, although different, filled the entire stadium with enthusiasm for a projected win. Regardless of the people who did not follow mask protocol, we both had fun at the game and, hopefully, SHS can open its doors for more people to watch the game as COVID restrictions lessen.
