As I pulled up to Arrowhead Stadium, the passion can be seen and smelled through the honks of the obsessive buses, decked out with red and gold, and the mist of barbecue sauce combined with smoke that comes screaming off of grills in the filled parking lot. While the Kansas City Chief’s might not be the most competitive team this year, their tailgating fans never disappoint.
This can be sharply contrasted with the seemingly indifferent fans of the Parkway Central Colts, one of the four best teams this year in the state. While occasional tailgates are spotted in the parking lots of PCH, fans typically tend to show up to the game right as it starts, if not after. I myself have been guilty of this crime. While comparing Parkway Central with the illustrious Arrowhead stadium might be a bit pretentious, our school also lacks the pre-game spirit of rivals Kirkwood, and other schools seen in the playoffs.
Upon pulling into Arrowhead, known to many as “The Tailgate Capital of the NFL”, the first sight noticed is the sea upon sea of red, still in full even with a dismal record including only two wins. While this may seem irrelevant to Parkway Central, I think that it should teach all of our football fans a lesson about passion and support for our team. While we are accustomed to a recent track record of success, we need to value the years in which we do very well, with this year, making it to the state semi-finals, a prime example.
While there is no denying the support the team had in its last game of the season, the first several home playoff games had a depleted atmosphere, especially for being on the road to a state championship game.
While Parkway Central football fans are unable to redeem themselves until next year’s football season, the current basketball season gives students a perfect opportunity to prove that Parkway Central does have spirit to support their school sports teams.