When most people think about high school sports their minds immediately go to Friday night lights and varsity football. However, the vast majority of high school athletes don’t perform on the gridiron. They’re on the court, in the pool, and on the diamond, and for many, the lack of attention is frustrating. “Girls sports at North Creek, pretty much all of them, don’t get the respect and attention they deserve,” said Senior Alison Bianchi, a girls varsity basketball player.
Bianchi has played for all four years she has been at North Creek. She has shown up to home games ready to play, just to see empty bleachers looking down on her. “I don’t know if it is because we are females or because we are not as good or it’s not as entertaining… I just feel like people favor boys sports.” Many people are tired of hearing about the gender card, they feel that female athletes get the recognition they deserve and should be happy with what they get.
It’s a little odd that the ones who are benefiting from this feel that they are equal but it’s all perspective. Bianchi isn’t the only one who feels like she plays an under-represented sport. “Cross Country is the most slept on, underrated thing in our school. That’s why our team is so small,” said NCHS senior Jesus Herrejon, who runs cross country and track. Herrejon says he understands why it’s not the most popular. “It’s just running, like who wants to just run? I mean I understand that, I love running but I can see why people wouldn’t want to join it.” Herrejon doesn’t see any sports at North Creek getting more attention than what they deserve.
Bianchi feels differently, “Football does [get more attention]. I don’t think they deserve all the attention they get. Boys basketball gets a lot of attention but they have a lot of players,” she said. However, coming from a sport that receives even less attention, Herrejon has different thoughts about volleyball, “Volleyball gets a lot of attention but I can see why because they are good. They are champions and they are the first school team to do that, so I understand why. Besides that, football is the biggest sport so I see why they are a more popular sport to go to. But I don’t think any sport gets crazy more (attention) than others”. North Creek’s student athletes seem to have mixed feelings over North Creek athletics. “It’s perceived [by some] that High School is all about the football team. I feel as if the girls’ teams are made just because they [have to] have a little thing to include girls,” freshman Jaylah Keimig, a dancer, said.
