The Thunderdome, Episcopal Academy’s student section, has been instrumental at Friday night football games, giving all of the athletes on the field endless motivation and energy. At these games, however, not only does the Thunderdome support the football team, but it also fosters a close community and culture for the many Episcopal students in the stands. Nishant Thangada ‘19 explains, “I love going to the games on Friday. It is really fun to watch my friends out there on the field and cheer in the stands with the Dome. I feel like it really brings out the school spirit.”
While the Thunderdome comes out with full force to support many of the football games, the same school spirit seems to be lacking at the many games for other sports. Praneeth Alla ‘19 recounts going to the EA vs Haverford soccer game and “only seeing a handful of students present at the game.” Soccer captain, Harrison Malone ‘19, also feels that the Thunderdome’s spirit is much more prevalent at football games, saying, “I do think the Dome is more present for most football games compared to soccer games.” Malone recognized that there might be practical reasons for this, however, saying, “this is understandable because of the timing of our games,” which can be while other sports are practicing. Malone explains that he does “wish the Dome came to more of our games in general because it really makes a difference when you have the whole school supporting and watching you.”
Girls’ sports as well suffer from low attendance from the Thunderdome compared to Friday football games. Girls’ Soccer captain, Maddie Loughead ‘19, says, “I think both boys and girls soccer really thrive off of the energy the Dome can bring to games.” Loughead as well alludes to the timing of games affecting Thunderdome attendance, stating, “The opportunity to have Friday night games is awesome and I wish other sports had it as well to get the Dome to come watch and supporting everyone instead of only EA/Haverford/AIS weekend.”
The Thunderdome also seems to be less active during the winter and spring seasons. When questioned whether or not she thinks the Thunderdome should be present for more lacrosse games, girl’s lacrosse co-captain Izzy Rohr ‘19 says, “yes 100% I think they hype everyone up and makes everyone work so much harder.” Gabriel Furey ‘19, Co-captain of the lacrosse team, shares how the the presence of the Thunderdome would help the athletes on the field, he states, “I understand it is hard to have a large group at our field just because of the demographic, but when playing with the dome at games, not only do we play for the name of our jerseys, but every single kid cheering us on.” He continues, “We play harder for the energy level and passion is elevated.” By having the Thunderdome come out to some of these other sports, we as a school can help elevate the athletics program.
In conclusion, students all agree that the Thunderdome is a great way to show support for our teams and to celebrate successes with our community. However, an increased showing at a wide range of both boys’ and girls’ sports games during all seasons would lead to an overall stronger and more connected community.