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The music starts, fans cheering, jumping up and down nearly breaking the football bleachers. If you are a student at Grosse Pointe South High School, you know exactly the environment of a home football game. Screams echo throughout the whole stadium as students support their classmates playing the game. However, when it’s the night of a varsity soccer, volleyball, baseball, softball or lacrosse game, the environment is drastically different.
I truly believe that cheering and supporting can change the outcome of a game. Home games with a crowd of fans can increase performance of each player, and the team overall. According to InnerDrive.co, performing in front of a crowd can distract players from fatigue. The blog explains that focusing on crowds and thriving off of the atmosphere can be an effective strategy for athletes to use when they are becoming tired during their game. Along with cheering, bright, colorful visual aids like flags, signs and shirts can physically and psychologically influence players as well, according to InnerDrive.co. Visual aids have been found to boost a player’s physical strength by eight percent. At South, each football game has a theme. These themes can represent visual aids for the players. With all of the support shown at home games, players have an advantage to their performance.
I understand that there are other advantages to playing on a home field. For example, there is a familiarity with the sporting venue and equipment to use when playing on the home field. According to the National Library of Medicine, factors such as away team travels, familiarity with facilities and tactics issues can increase home field advantage as well. However, the support from classmates adds an extra advantage to a player’s performance.
Despite the other advantages a team may have by playing on their home field, fans’ support boosts the confidence of players and creates an atmosphere for success. Therefore, the sports with less of a crowd can have a decreased home advantage than the sports that draw a bigger support system.
