I've never dabbled in body paint. Or eye black. Or pom-poms. But, while I'm never one to go "all out" at sporting event, I certainly don't lack school spirit. I love being lost in a sea of monochromatic onlookers, eventually losing my voice from cheering too loudly.

Unfortunately, many of my fellow Chapman students seem to disagree.

Until now.

About 2,800 people attended Chapman's Homecoming football game on Oct. 4, according to the game's announcer. At the start of the game, every seat in the brand-new 2,000-seat Ernie Chapman Stadium appeared full. The other 800 people must have come from the visiting bleachers across. It was unlike anything I have seen at this school.

It seems that Chapman spirit has dramatically increased this semester. I guess we have Lastinger Athletics Center to thank. Personally though, that's a little disheartening.

Why does it take a new, flashy, expensive stadium to make Chapman students care? Last year, Chapman athletics had to struggle to get people to even know about home games, and Homecoming attendance was probably half of what it was this year. I understand a new facility is exciting, but can't we care about our sports teams beyond the place where they're playing?

I play tennis at Chapman, and we are lucky if we get two students to watch one of our matches. However, it seems almost guaranteed that 200 would show up if we upgraded our facilities like Wilson Field did. The Chapman audience is after the spectacle, not the sport.

One may argue, however, that it is exactly these aspects that make a sporting event exciting -- that fireworks and dance squads and large arenas evoke school spirit. But my experience has been the contrary.

I attended a high school with a student body of about 150. We didn't have fireworks or stadiums. Our home game attendance was counted by the number of people crammed along the sidelines of the field.

Despite our size, we did not lack school spirit. It was not uncommon to see a few individuals paint their entire bodies blue with a letter on each of their backs to spell out H-A-W-K-S, our school mascot. Our games got so loud the players could hardly hear the coach's directions over the audience hysteria.

It was evenings like that that we lived for.

I simply challenge the Chapman student body this: Remember why you are cheering at a football game. Go because you love The Panthers. Not because you love Mr. and Mrs. Lastinger.