Due to the ongoing construction at Aragon, the basketball games that are supposed to be played at home are being played this year at either Hillsdale or San Mateos’ gyms. Attendance for these games has dropped significantly from the past.
Many reasons such as inconvenience and inability to go to an away high school gym for home games have prevented many students from attending the games.
Senior Aaron Kim says, “[The change] has affected me. I would be more inclined to go if it was at Aragon.”
Another affected fan, junior Jose Ruiz says, “No, I have not gone. And yes, it is because going to Hillsdale is whack. And not a lot of people have been going to basketball games too.”
Senior Jetrho Mercado says, “It’s pretty hard [to go to the games] because every home game is in Hillsdale. It doesn’t really feel like a home game. It’s kind of weird if it’s the Dons versus some random team, and it’s there and there are Knights all over the place, like on the gym floor and everything.”
Mercado comments that, if the Dons make the playoffs, his mind set about going to games will change. “We have to [go to the game] so our players can get the inspiration and motivation to get that win. We might actually have to go to Hillsdale, and walk or drive that mile and a half or so,” he says.
Senior Avery Chan says, “I only went to one game this year. If it was at Aragon, I would have went to hella games.”
There still are other students that have not been as affected by the change in basketball game sites. Senior Ali Imani says, “[The change] hasn’t affected me!”
Still, the lack of a home court has caused audience attendance to drop dramatically. In an effort to raise attendance to games, Mrs. Ward started the golden prom ticket event. A few lucky audience members at girl’s varsity basketball game are given the chance to take a half-court shot. Any audience member who scores the half-court shot is given a free, golden prom ticket.
Playing at a different gym affects teams differently. Even though the games at Hillsdale and San Mateo are considered “home” games for Aragon this year, it is certainly a different feel for the players. Senior Calvin Chen says, “Playing at Aragon is definitely better because we practice here. It feels more like you’re defending your home court when you’re at home [Aragon].”
One of the players on the girls’ team, junior Christy Conway, says the change of courts has not affected her or the team’s play. “We try our hardest at every game. We want to go out with a bang this year, and be undefeated and move up to the next division next year.”
A starter on the Aragon’s boys’ team, junior Sam Hala’ufia, doesn’t think the low amount of fans has affected him or the team. “I don’t think [the lack of fans has affected us]. Or at least not for me because I love to play basketball, and although it would be great to have people there, I still play with a passion for the game, not for the audience.”
Yash Kaiwar, a senior and player on the Aragon boys’ team, says, “I don’t think [the low amount of fans] really has affected us. It sucks not to have fans, but our team is still playing pretty well.”
The low amount of fans is unusual for the Aragon team. Kaiwar says, “I understand why there haven’t been lots of Aragon fans at games. We haven’t had much of a home court.”
So while some fans are affected by the change in location, the players are not. The boys and girls teams are in first place in their respective leagues. The teams’ good play should bring out more fans as the playoffs approach.
