[Soundbite Northwestern Fight Song] Northwestern University Fight Song-“Go U, Northwestern”
ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12TH, WILDSIDE, NORTHWESTERN’S STUDENT FAN ORGANIZATION, ANNOUNCED A NEW POINT SYSTEM FOR STUDENTS IN ORDER TO SECURE TICKETS FOR BASKETBALL GAMES THIS UPCOMING SEASON. SINCE THEN, NORTHWESTERN ATHLETICS HAS SEEN MAJOR GROWTH IN ATTENDANCE AT SPORTING EVENTS. I SPOKE WITH KAYLA COHEN, THE PRESIDENT OF WILDSIDE,
ABOUT THE NEW SYSTEM.
[Kayla Cohen] “So just to start it off, the point system is implemented by Athletics, not
Wildside. So while Wildside is the student section and is going to be affected by this point system, the cost of it, the implementation of it, it is all done by Northwestern Athletics. What the point system is, it’s like a meritocracy based point system, similar to the ones you can find at other schools.”
WHAT DOES THIS POINT SYSTEM LOOK LIKE? LIKE KAYLA MENTIONED, IT IS A
MERITOCRACY BASED POINT SYSTEM. AS STUDENTS ATTEND GAMES, THEY WILL
SCAN THEIR WILDCARD IN ORDER TO EARN A GIVEN AMOUNT OF POINTS FOR EVERY HOME GAME. WOMEN’S BASKETBALL IS WORTH FIVE POINTS, OLYMPIC SPORTS ARE FOUR POINTS, FOOTBALL AND MEN’S NON-CONFERENCE BASKETBALL ARE WORTH THREE POINTS, AND CONFERENCE MEN’S BASKETBALL GAMES ARE ONE POINT. THESE POINTS WILL BE USED TO DETERMINE A STUDENT’S CLAIM WINDOW FOR MEN’S BASKETBALL TICKETS.
[KC] “We’ve been wanting to implement it for a while before this crazy basketball
demand, and in those kinds of games where you have that much enthusiasm, there’s an opportunity to promote other sports and promote engagement there. I think that’s kind of why the point system became a thing.”
[Nat Sound: fans cheering at Northwestern basketball]
THIS RISE IN NORTHWESTERN MEN’S BASKETBALL POPULARITY INCLUDES THE
HIGHEST STUDENT ATTENDANCE IN PROGRAM HISTORY. DURING THEIR 22-23
SEASON GAME AGAINST RUTGERS, 1,511 STUDENTS PACKED WELSH-RYAN ARENA. A NEW TICKETING SYSTEM WAS CREATED FOR STUDENTS DURING THE 22-23 SEASON, AS MANY WERE BEGINNING TO BE TURNED AWAY AT THE DOOR DUE TO LACK OF ROOM IN THE STUDENT SECTION. THIS TICKETING SYSTEM HOWEVER, WAS ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS. A LINK TO SECURE TICKETS WAS SENT TO STUDENTS’ EMAILS, AND ONLY SO MANY TICKETS WERE AVAILABLE. SOPHOMORE CHELSEA OGBONNA IS ONE OF THE MANY STUDENTS THAT HAD A HARD TIME GETTING TO GAMES.
[Chelsea Ogbonna] “At first, it wasn't that hard to get tickets for the basketball games. However, as we became more popular and we started winning more games, it was like a lot more harder to get into the games. It was stressful, but it kind of had the school spirit of like everyone coming to show up to like support our basketball players.”
ALTHOUGH IT WAS HARD TO GET THERE, FANS SHOWED UP LOUD AND PROUD.
WILDSIDE SOCIAL MEDIA CHAIR DYLAN FRIEDLAND EXPECTS A SIMILAR
ENVIRONMENT DURING THIS YEAR’S BASKETBALL SEASON.
[Dylan Friedland} “I’m almost expecting a better environment this year because I think
you have the incoming freshman class as well who’s even more hyped up about it. We’ve
seen the attendance at some of these other games already because of, partially because
of this point system and how excited people are to have the chance of getting these
basketball tickets that I think if they’re putting in all this work to go and get these points
for these basketball tickets, they’re going to want to show up at these games. They’re
going to want to be loud and they’re going to want to be even more excited.”
IT’S SAFE TO SAY THAT EXPECTATIONS ARE HIGH FOR THIS YEAR’S BASKETBALL
TEAM, AS STUDENTS HAVE BEEN SHOWING UP TO OTHER GAMES TO SECURE THEIR
CHANCE TO GET TICKETS DUE TO THIS NEW POINT SYSTEM. ON SEPTEMBER 22ND,
ANOTHER RECORD WAS BROKEN. 1,746 STUDENTS SHOWED UP FOR THE
NORTHWESTERN VOLLEYBALL MATCH AGAINST WISCONSIN, THE LARGEST STUDENT CROWD TO EVER WITNESS AN ATHLETIC EVENT IN WELSH-RYAN ARENA. I SPOKE TO SOPHOMORE VOLLEYBALL PLAYER KENNEDY HILL ABOUT THIS ACHIEVEMENT.
[Kennedy Hill] “It’s been such a joy. I love how energetic everybody is and people don’t just come like they come and cheer and like they do chants, and Wildside has been so good about that, the student section. So, I think all of us are just extremely happy to finally see so many faces at our games.”
IT’S CLEAR THAT THE ATHLETES ARE LOVING THIS POINT SYSTEM, BUT HOW DO THE STUDENTS FEEL ABOUT IT? I ASKED FRESHMAN IVY MILLS FOR HER OPINION
[Ivy Mils] “I was kind of intimidated because my school never had anything like that. We weren’t into sports. I guess I have been to a lot of games now, but I was just worried I wouldn’t be able to make it with classes and stuff.”
MILLS’ CONCERNS ABOUT NOT BEING ABLE TO MAKE GAMES DUE TO THE INTENSE CLASS SCHEDULE THAT NORTHWESTERN OFFERS HAS BECOME A COMMON SENTIMENT AMONGST STUDENTS. SOPHOMORE HALEY SHAMAH IS ONE OF THEM.
[Haley Shamah] “I’m definitely not prioritizing school work as much as I should in order
to get to as many games as possible. I definitely think that the amount of games I’m
going to right now has increased a lot because of the point system. I’m only going for the
points.”
ANOTHER COMMON CONCERN REGARDING THIS POINT SYSTEM IS WHETHER
STUDENTS ARE GOING TO THESE GAMES FOR THE RIGHT REASONS. SPIRIT TEAM
MEMBER WILL KRAMER DOESN’T THINK SO.
[Will Kramer] “I think what is probably going on is the teams are happy to have the fans
there, but then everyone will leave halfway through because they got their points. And, it
really just shows that it was a performative act, it wasn’t really an act of support.”
BUT, DOES IT MATTER WHY FANS ARE THERE? OR IS WHAT MATTERS THE FACT THEY
SHOWED UP IN THE FIRST PLACE. ACCORDING TO HILL, FAN ATTENDANCE MAKES AN IMPACT ON HOW THE TEAMS PLAY.
[KH] “100 percent it does like from the start what our team feeds on is energy so from the
start when everybody is loud and chaotic and like kind of makes the other team feel a
little down. We feed off of that momentum and you guys really help us get there.”
FRIEDLAND HAS ALSO SEEN THE IMPORTANCE OF FAN SUPPORT.
[DF] “Soccer’s been getting some great turnouts, field hockey has been getting good
turnouts as well. It’s really exciting to see people showing out at some of these other
sports and supporting these other teams who are also playing really well. I mean, men’s
and women’s soccer were both ranked. Field hockey is a top three team in the country,
and it’s really cool to see people coming out, supporting these teams and cheering them
on.”
ALTHOUGH THIS POINT SYSTEM IS ALREADY MAKING AN IMPACT, IT IS STILL IN ITS
EARLY STAGES. SOME STUDENTS ARE UNSURE ABOUT HOW EXACTLY CLAIMING
TICKETS WILL GO, AND WHETHER OR NOT THE AMOUNT OF POINTS THEY’VE
SECURED WILL BE ENOUGH.
[KC] “I think implementing this point system, it’s going to have its glitches, and that’s
what I’m most nervous about. And when there are these technological difficulties it’s
frustrating for us, so I’m really hoping that we’ll avoid those. I think it’s a developing
system. I think it’ll be good in the long term.”
[Northwestern Fight Song fade out]
FOR WNUR NEWS, I”M JESSICA WATTS.
