Students showing up more at Eastern sporting events could be beneficial for both parties who make up that situation: The students and the student-athletes participating.

Eastern athletes have told me it would be great if more students attended their games, and, really, there seems to be no reason students currently do not attend games more.

In all three years of my attendance here at Eastern, there is little to no contingent of the Eastern student body to show support for their fellow students and to show their school pride.

Love or hate sports, you chose Eastern for a reason, and showing school pride time-to-time will not hurt you.

Sports are a big chance for people to socialize and branch out, and what is the one thing you hear from everyone who tells you what college is about: Finding yourself.

Socializing, meeting new people and having fun, that is what college is for.

Going to watch a basketball, football or soccer game is a great way to be around others and get a feeling of community.

As Eastern is climbing its way back to a student population of 10,000 or above, one way to help this school feel more alive is to create a better feeling of school pride and togetherness.

Looking at photos of sporting events, even just six years ago, shows an Eastern campus that was alive and was always ready to go and yell for its teams for two hours.

Now, the bleachers at soccer games are fairly empty.

The football team had fewer attendees at nearly every game last year than the annual Mattoon-Charleston high school football game. It seemed like that high school game had way more attendees for one night than a college football game.

This goes beyond just showing school pride, this entails the teams themselves.

Athletes get an adrenaline rush from a cheering crowd.

Admittedly, more fans will not help teams perform better, but a better atmosphere at games could make Eastern more fun.

Eastern teams have not exactly earned the adornment of a championship-sized attendance, but they do deserve some respect and some cheering as support from their fellow students.

We are all here to help each other, and that is what showing up to games more could do.

Whether that is to help the athletes have more to play for, or for someone new to campus to feel more involved, a higher attendance can do both.

Eastern is a great school, and according to people I have talked to, they like being here.

So why not show some love for the school and create a fun atmosphere by simply sitting at a sporting event?

Dillan Schorfheide is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or dtschorfheide@eiu.edu.