Have you ever watched any of those movies or TV shows that perfectly depict the stereotypical high school scenario? I’m talking about movies like High School Musical, Friday Night Lights, Grease, Mean Girls, etc. You watch them and think, Wow, imagine if high school was really like that? It looks like they have so much fun. They have awesome pep-rallies and everyone goes crazy over Friday-night football. You think, too bad it’s not like that here.

Well guess what Lions: it could be like that if we wanted it to — everything is what you make of it.

Our boys soccer team has just been ranked number one in the state. They’re also ranked eighth nationally. Does anyone realize how amazing an honor that is?

That’s why on Saturday, Stept. 8, I was absolutely disgusted. You’d think that since the boys soccer team claimed the Western Massachusetts champion title (five years running) and the State Champion title (two years running) that the stands would be absolutely packed with crazed maroon-maniacs painting their stomachs and such.

But no, not at Ludlow. We’re lucky if we could have even filled up two rows of bleachers at that game. May I also add that they played one of our school’s biggest rivals: Minnechaug. They also had more fans in the crowd than we did, at our home game.

Pathetic.

You “strictly-playoff” spectators are guilty too.

Anyone with a Facebook or Twitter account I’m sure is familiar with those who love to hop on the bandwagon of a professional sports team only when the postseason rolls around. Their sports related posts take over our timelines and news feeds. Everyone asks them “Where were your Bruins tweets during game one?”

Well that’s the same thing as the people who say, “Wow, I can’t wait ‘til playoffs so we can all go to games and chant and blah blah blah it’s such a blast.” Or those who make it to one volleyball or basketball game when it’s playoffs.

Why not make the fun last all season and start it at the first game? I don’t get it.

I won’t even get into girls’ athletics here. With the exception of the boys’ soccer team going to the girls’ soccer games, they’re lucky to even get any spectators during playoffs.

Have you ever been to a basketball game at Chicopee High? You can’t even hear the referee’s whistle blowing. The “Pacer Pound” gets absolutely packed at every single game, even when they play away. They get Facebook events to hype up big football, basketball, and soccer games for weeks prior.

Even Cathedral fans packed our home football game to support their boys on their first game.

They absolutely love doing it too. They look forward to getting together as a school and supporting all sports teams, even the girls. It’s fun.

I’ve heard these tales about a group of students called “Studlow.” They were just groups of students who infested any athletic event Ludlow was apart of to support every team. They’d go all-out in maroon packing drums, horns, flags, and were always prepared to yell out a “God Made The Ocean Chant” in perfect sync.

They were even ranked as one of the top ten fan bases to aggravate their opponents in Massachusetts by ESPN at one point. Imagine that.

Once upon a time attending the football game was the thing to do on Friday nights. They even had pep-rallies, and homecoming was a much bigger deal.

This wasn’t too long ago either. We’ve only become boring in the past three years. When we seniors were freshmen school seemed so much more fun.

People can also relax with the “Our football team sucks,” line. I’m sure the players love hearing that after busting their butts at harder and longer practices than any other sport, every single day. Now that teams like Central and South Hadley aren’t in their schedule the games are going to be much more competitive.

Even the cheerleaders who are sometimes the only students who cheer on the basketball and football teams get no respect or support.

Sure we all love shouting out “Cheerleading isn’t a sport!” when we see Michelle Almeida in the hallways; it’s funny. But regardless of your opinion, sport or club, it’s still cool to watch. Even if you’re a guy, why wouldn’t you want to go watch a bunch of cute girls in miniskirts flip around while supporting our cheerleaders at the same time? They’re actually really good. Western Mass Champion good.

As seniors many of us have talked and we want to make it a point to pack games and have a blast this year. Underclassmen should know that they’re allowed to stand up and cheer with us. In fact, we want you to. The louder the better, right?

The bottom line is that attending school events like dances and games is all part of the traditional high school experience. Dress up and participate in spirit week. Go paint your stomach and watch the soccer team win another state championship. Grab a hot chocolate and help cheer on the football team. Come together as not only a school, but as a community. Why wouldn’t you want to make the best out of your time here as a Ludlow Lion instead of just waiting to get out of here? I mean, what else do you have to do? I just want to have a fun year. It’s not like there is ever anything going on in the Friendly’s parking lot anyways…