Among high schools across the country, sports are a huge part of student culture. From Friday night football games to winter basketball games, sports are a highlight of the American high school experience. 

However, with a large variety of sports being offered at high schools, the competitiveness can grow from silver trophy rivalries to comparing one sport to the next.

As a high school cross country runner and tennis player, I’ve heard comments that “tennis is boring” or “running isn’t a real sport,” which disparage the hard work that I put into each sport I play. This isn’t just a problem with those sports, but many other sports such as golf, softball, bowling and dance.

Each sport is different from the next. Some are more physical than others, some are more enjoyable to watch than others, but all athletes should respect and cheer on other athletes instead of discouraging them by calling their sport “easy” or “lame.”

Each high school has their own “money sport,” which is the sport that gets their school the most money either by attendance or how good the team does throughout their designated season. However, being that money sport does not mean it’s  the superior sport. Every sport needs to be respected by members of your school community.

Solutions to this problem are hard to come by, as it is impossible to make a huge change against something that is a problem all across America. However there are possibilities for small changes. 

One thing schools can do better is make sure each sport gets attention from the media. Whether that be online or in a school’s newspaper, part of the problem that schools have is not only from students themselves, but from those who spread school news. In school announcements, there should be announcements about every sport. Whether that is how that sport has been doing in tournaments, or where they have their next game, showing support is crucial in helping each player feel like they are respected.

Another solution is for student athletes to make sure they go and support their fellow athletes at games and tournaments and not put down members of other sport teams. Showing support and respect will make athletes feel more comfortable with their sport and it might even increase their performances knowing they have a community behind them cheering for them.

Every sport is different, but wonderful, and I urge athletes to show love for other sports especially now that seasons are finishing up and state tournaments roll around.