Athletics have and will al- ways be a primary generator of school spirit and enthusiasm. Although Episcopal students prioritize academics, intellec- tual rigor is not something that can really bring the commu- nity together. Arts deserve just as much respect and support as athletics, but don’t gener- ally create the group experience of triumph over rival schools. And with all due respect to ev- ery other sport, it is obvious that the school tends to rally around the football program.
Ever since the installation of sports across the US, football has been the most attractive event for spectators. Although baseball is known as “America’s sport,” football deserves this title because it is rarely played outside of our country. At ev- ery high school in the area, football games bring out the biggest and loudest crowds, and the same can be said here at EA.
In a way, our school spirit at EA de- pends on our football team’s success. It is certainly no coincidence that there has been increasing excitment amongst the student body and beyond in support of the athletic program since the start of our football team’s championship run last season. The excitement has spread from the football team to other teams as well.
All teams have become more genuinely interested in each other’s success and they have fed off each other, evident by the eight inter ac championships won last year. At the end of many Episcopal Academy football games, one can often spot the EA student section, now known almost ex- clusively as the “Thunderdome,” swaying back-and-forth, arm-in-arm to the words of the Episcopal Academy school song. As the students collectively sing the familiar verses, they repeat the song’s plea to, “add luster to thy name,” and let “our ardor never cool.” Over the past four years, it has been clear to the Scholium staff that our school’s greatest advancement in upholding the val- ues of school spirit and communal bonds echoed in the school song is the addition of night football games along with the ad- vancement of the football program itself.
While the Episcopal Academy football pro- gram has become the bastion of EA school spirit and athletic excellence over the past four years, it has not escaped controversy in its pur- suit. Many have questioned the recruiting tactics of the team, while others have complained that EA’s special attention to football has down- graded the accomplishments of other teams. However, the community’s special attention to the football program has ultimately been a ben- efit to both the spiritual and athletic communi- ties of Episcopal. Only through football has the EA community bonded together to create a student-section complete with shirts, drums, and chants. Only through football has the EA com- munity found the spirit to storm the field on a Haverford day that ultimately resulted in a loss of the sweater. And only through football have the EA students felt compelled to sing a school song usually reserved for school chapels that even brought some alumni to the point of tears.
Perhaps the football team’s greatest con- tribution to the school’s spiritual and ath- letic communities has been the addition of Friday-night-lights. Whereas the academic environment at EA can sometimes feel like a competition against one’s own classmates, the football team’s games have created an environment where the EA community can join together and support their fellow peers in the spirit of competition. In the student section of football games there is no feeling of social stratification, but rather a communal bond between students of all grades as they collectively compete to over- come the opposing team’s cheering sections. Furthermore, the EA football games have instilled a spirit of athletic support that has given birth to other EA cheering sections for both basketball and lacrosse. With the addition of night games, EA students have also been given the incentive to stay around on campus and cheer for other games on Friday afternoons before the game. Other teams now have the opportunity to compete in the same night game environ- ment both when the football game is away in the fall and in the spring. The football team’s pursuit of excellence on the field has truly allowed EA “with one acclaim, to praise thy name in song in lusty chorus.”