There has been a constant fanbase controversy between the boy’s basketball team and the girl’s basketball team, as there seems to be little to no recognition whatsoever for the girl’s team. From lack of promotion from the school to certain game components that the boys have that the girls don’t, the contention between the teams is continuous.
The spirit is high within the girl’s team, but when it comes to the student body, barely anyone recognizes it. “I think the girl’s basketball team has a solid foundation of parents, family and staff, but I believe there could be more student engagement,” says junior Irene Awunganyi. The girl’s basketball team has “togetherness that the boy’s team doesn’t have,” junior Mia Marcus states. Both girls and boys have spirit within their team, senior Nate Edwards mentions, “We’re both just trying to win.” If both teams have the same goal and spirit, why are the boys recognized more?
The girls believe they don’t receive enough student and school recognition compared to the boys, however, senior Howard Burnett states, “I feel they do get enough recognition, but if they won a game they would get good recognition.” According to Marcus the winning record for they boys and girls teams was even last year, clarifying that the girls won the same amount of times as the boys.
Boys basketball at Fauquier has ‘themed games’ where the student section wears colors to match a theme for the games, yet the girls do not. The purpose of having themed games was to promote school spirit and bring in a crowd. Without themed games and a lack of other forms of promotion, the boys’ and girls’ games are nowhere close in the atmosphere aspect. However, Edwards believes otherwise, saying, “Yeah I think they do get enough recognition. Fans, parents and others cheering on the team, they’re there to support them.” Contradicting Edwards, junior Jordyn Serey says, “Nobody cares about the girl’s games and no one goes to the games, but everyone goes to the boy’s games.”
The long-lived controversy of boys vs. girls is still an ongoing issue, as hinted here with the two basketball teams. “I think athletically we are better,” says Edwards. Players on the girl’s team state that the boys have more fast-paced gameplay compared to the girls and that it could be a factor as to why no one attends their games.
Even with the lack of promotion from the school, the girls believe there are ways to encourage students to watch the games and cheer them on. The boys have an Instagram page dedicated to their team, while the girls do not. “They could post about us, talk about it more on the announcements, they usually only talk about the boys’ games that are happening and not the girls’,” says Serey.
