Take pride in fan support

There was a lot of purple in the gym.
That’s not an unusual situation of Marion High School’s Bill Green Arena.
Purple is the Giants’ color. And the gym has seen plenty of it, especially when the school was in its heyday of winning three straight state championships in the 1980s.
But Saturday’s purple wasn’t that of team-themed T-shirts supporting the Giants. They weren’t even in action.
Instead, the purple all over the gym was that of the bleachers. They were visible because so many of the seats were empty.
And this was for a regional tournament, one of the biggest days of basketball in Indiana. The Class 4A field featured Carmel, Homestead, Carroll (Fort Wayne) and McCutcheon, all 20-win teams all with hopes of advancing to the state’s final four. Carmel was ranked third at 22-2, followed by No. 4 Homestead (25-2), No. 8 Carroll (23-3) and unranked McCutcheon (22-4).
But their fan support belied their success this season. 
The lower bowl of the arena was mostly full, but not packed, as one might expect. The second level, the larger level, was sparsely populated. There was plenty of leg room.
And the lack of fan interest was most evident in the baseline bleachers  on each end of the court that were reserved for the students, with Carmel and Homestead splitting the north side and McCutcheon and Carroll the south. None of the schools came close to filling their areas.
McCutcheon’s section was the most sparsely populated, with just two rows totaling fewer than 20 students. The other three schools had more student fans, but not by a much.
It was a far cry from when the Jay County High School boys basketball team visited the same gym four years ago after a sophomore-laden team beat Huntington North in overtime, Homestead and Fort Wayne South Side en route to the sectional title. Students packed the area designated for them for the game against Kokomo, and Patriot fans of all sorts overflowed into opposing teams’ sections.
JCHS?coach Craig Teagle had plenty of appreciation to give out March 9 after his team’s season came to an end with a loss to Homestead, a team that beat Carroll and Carmel Saturday to advance to the semi-state. He said thank you not only to his players and fellow coaches, but to the band, cheerleaders and fans. He noted the huge advantage his team has at home when the opposition has to deal with a blaring band, or on the road when the Patriots have more fans in the stands than the host school.
While some schools have seen their fan bases fade, it’s great to see our community continue to passionately support its athletes.
Keep up the good work.