Coming from a small school I know the feeling and mentality. My old school was the Valley Springs Tigers, and no matter the sport, no matter the night, I went to the game. I did this because we were the Tigers. I never said that the Tiger girls basketball team was playing;  I said that the Tigers were playing. 

Har-Ber does not share this same mentality. Har-Ber categorizes too much. ,

“I’m just going to the boys game because the girls game will be boring.”

This kind of mentality is exactly what is wrong. We should view the basketball games as the Wildcats are playing tonight, so the games should be really good. No matter what the sport is, it’s your school and it’s the Wildcats. 

Every single sporting event at Valley Springs had a student section, no matter the sport, no matter the gender, no matter the quality of the team. We loved watching the Tigers. We loved watching our teams play, win or lose. I wish this feeling was shared here, but I have not witnessed this mentality yet. 

That mentality of a small school is what makes me happy I grew up somewhere else. Har-Ber fans think they are entitled to winning. You are not entitled to anything unless you work for it. This is so much different from a small school. The Tigers or those who go to a small school think they deserve what they earn.  

You could say it’s generational or that I am being too general with my claims. However, my experience proves otherwise.

While I am very happy at this bigger school which offers me many more opportunities than I could have even imagined, I am  very disappointed in the way that we treat and act towards our Wildcat sports. Trying to justify your lack of allegiance to HBHS because you don’t like the sport or because you don’t want to watch the girls game is an insult to this school. 

No matter what, you are a Wildcat. Wildcats care about fellow Wildcats. I will always love and remember my roots, but I would also love to see that mentality blossom here as well. We really need it. We need it now.