Before arriving at RBHS my freshman year, I had high hopes for the student life and perks of being a Bruin. The large campus size, giant student body, unassigned seating for lunch and most importantly, the sport games, are all hallmarks of our school. As a wide-eyed middle school student eager to begin my high school career, I imagined standing in the student section at a Friday night football game wearing green and gold face paint with a Bruin head t-shirt.
Sadly, the real world rarely meets fantasy born expectations. When I was finally able to go to a RBHS football game during my freshman year, I was met not with spirit but rather teenage chauvinism. People in the student section threw food and drinks and additionally lambasted the cheerleaders, referees and football players with boos and chants.
By the end of the game, we were losing, and many, if not most, of the students had left the bleachers entirely and gone home. What surprised me most was the disappointed faces I saw from my fellow classmen, who were at the time freshmen. Our first high school football game was supposed to be a night of bonding, cheap popcorn, doing the wave and fun; instead, we had a night of disappointment.
Games later in the season followed suit with this unfortunate pattern. People went along with the attire themes, such as ‘white out’ and ‘neon,’ but that was the extent of student pride as the foolishness and teenage antics persisted at each game.
The week leading up to homecoming wasn’t much better. The various spirit day themes weren’t getting much participation outside the student government officers, a handful of freshmen and court members. The school spirit that should’ve been present beforehand was absent.