There is no excuse for the lack of support of the Huskies from GBC students

Advertisements for George Brown College (GBC) are constantly posted on billboards and subways in Toronto and around the GTA, and it’s pretty clear that  GBC is known for its academics rather than its athletics.

Still, athletics play a large role in the life of a GBC student. With fitness and health promotion to sports marketing programs, there is no doubt that athletics are a focused subject.

There are seven varsity sports offered at George Brown and many extramural and intramural teams to complement them. So, the question is, where is the student support for our hardworking athletes?

Support is offered in many ways but most importantly in a physical sense.

Making an appearance to support your college’s sport teams should not be a questionable experience, but here we are, wondering if we will ever see the sidelines full of students.

GBC is widely known as a commuter school and because of that, the demands of staying on campus longer than the duration of classes seems like a stretch. A college student’s mentality is to simply to go to school, do the required work and go home, with no added or unnecessary hours spent on campus.

While that is understandable, students need to be making the most of their time at school.

From on-campus work to sporting events, there are many opportunities for student involvement.

Why not get to know people and take advantage of the facilities?

The fact is that college athletics don’t offer as much excitement as the CFL, NFL or NHL and we don’t expect them to. What we can expect is passion from more than just the players. We need enthusiasm from the bleachers and interest from the players.

Myles Brand, president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and writer of “Getting a Grip on Fan Behaviour at College Sports,” an article that appeared in the Huffington Post in 2008, states that “the involvement in intercollegiate athletics as student-athlete or fan is often an emotional experience.”

Brand goes on to say that “the deep passion of playing or supporting a team is part of what makes college sports so attractive.” Unfortunately for GBC, there is a lack of attractiveness and a loss of interest towards our athletes.

What can we do to fix this?

It’s obvious you cannot force students to show school spirit, so what we need to implement are ways to entice the students to support their fellow peers and athletes. With a new residence in the works there is a possibility for more support, but this is not guaranteed.

Athletes at GBC will look toward the sidelines in disappointment wondering where the 24,000 students that attend the school might be. Ted Johnson, a guard for the Huskies’ basketball team said, “I would play better if there was more support.”

With lots of opportunities to find out when the next games are, whether from Twitter, Facebook or even posters posted around the campus, there is no excuse for the lack of support from George Brown students.

 

Brittany Barber is The Dialog’s former sports reporter and currently works for George Brown College’s athletics department as sports editor.