The sea of red and white in the bleachers of East High overwhelms the audience. They see the ecstatic fans of the basketball team jumping up and down, full of energy, and the shining pom-poms of the enthusiastic cheerleaders, waving their arms as they encourage the Wildcats.

At the PHS Homecoming football game, four lonely cheerleaders root for the team with uninterested students on their phones behind them. The thin crowd in the stands at football Senior Night makes me wish that I went to East High, not just so that I could meet Gabriella and Troy, but so that I could be a student at a high school where school spirit is just as important as the English essay that I should be working on now.

I love Piedmont High School. I love the academic rigor, at least most of the time, and I like the people that surround me every day. But I wish that I could come to school and see evidence that everyone else loves this school, too. There are no purple streamers in the hallways for rival sports games. There are no crowds in the stands for football, basketball, soccer, or lacrosse. And beyond that, during the rallies that ASB works tirelessly to put on, students walk to Mulberry’s, go home and take a nap, or skip the festivities and just go sit in Piedmont Park.

At last year’s winter rally, more than ten percent of the graduated senior class was missing. The majority of class color came from the balloons already in the bleachers, and to make matters worse, students did not plan in advance to wear orange, green, blue, or red from head to toe. Most students could barely find an old t-shirt to throw on before they left their house, and when everyone finally got to the decked-out gym, most of them could not even muster enough enthusiasm to cheer for their classmates during competitions.

I will be the first to admit that I need to step up. While some of my classmates did, in fact, spend the month of September planning their outfits for Homecoming week, they are few and far between. They bring spirit, and they bring enthusiasm. But it will only leave a lasting impact if everyone at this school makes every moment count. That includes wearing knee-high purple socks even if it makes you look stupid, and wearing a Christmas suit for Holiday-o-grams. That means handing out Hawaiian leis to everyone who forgot to dress up for the Homecoming Week spirit day. And that also means screaming and cheering and spending five dollars in order to support the sports teams when they go to NCS.

Even though fall sports are over, we can all still find ways to support our classmates. The Purple Pit, basketball’s student fan section, provides the perfect opportunity to show our spirit. To participate, buy a Purple Pit shirt from the Piedmont Store online, the athletics’ office, or at a varsity game at the Binks Gym, and you will be rewarded with free pizza at every home varsity basketball game. Then, you can go to the basketball games whenever you want and cheer your heart out.

I want to look back at my high school experience and be able to relive the best moments, and even if we are not as spirited as the kids in High School Musical, we can still try and live up to those expectations.

If we want to remember our time here at PHS for years to come, we have to step it up and go all out: Wildcat style. Because at the end of the day, when we are covered head to toe in Piedmont-purple, we have to remember that we’re all in this together.