Football season is a great time in Norman. Thousands of college students live for Saturdays. Then, after 12 weeks, sports become a distant memory. The entire campus community seems to forget that we have more than 10 other sports competing on campus.

Women’s basketball coach Sherri Coale recently told the media she and her team were disappointed to see that the upper tier of the Lloyd Noble Center was nearly empty during a game. Coale’s Sooners are ranked No.2 in the country. They are, both now and historically, one of the nation’s powerhouse teams.

Last weekend, the wrestling and women’s gymnastics teams had a dual meet. Even with numerous promotions, fans did not fill one side of Lloyd Noble. The women’s gymnastics team is ranked No. 7 in the nation and is also known as a powerhouse. The wrestling team is ranked No. 19 in the country and has several individually ranked athletes.

The men’s basketball team is ranked No. 2 in the nation in coach Jeff Capel’s third year with the team. Yet they could not sell all their student season tickets.

The men’s gymnastics team has won more national titles than the football team and produced an Olympic medalist last year. Yet they do not have half as many fans at each meet as football does at each game. We need to support these other sports with the same enthusiasm we have for football. These athletes work just as hard and are just as talented as football players at their respective sports.

Students, of all fans, have the most incentive to attend sporting events all year. The athletic department offers free admission to all sports other than football and men’s basketball with a student ID.

Sooner Nation, the student fan group under the athletic department, offers numerous incentives to students as well. For simply attending sports throughout the year, students can receive free t-shirts, hats, pint glasses, Nike shorts and a Sooner jersey. At the end of the school year, Sooner Nation gives away a free flat screen television. What college student doesn’t jump at the opportunity for free stuff?

The freebies don’t end there. Cheerleaders throw t-shirts into the stands much more frequently during these sports than during football games. Not to mention, you have a much better chance of the shirt actually reaching your seat if you’re not on the 80th row of the stadium.

It’s not just about the free stuff, though. It’s about showing support for your fellow classmates, who just happen to be some of the best collegiate athletes in the nation.

There is no reason the coach of the No. 2 ranked women’s basketball team in the nation should have to criticize fans for poor attendance. Likewise, there is no reason the coach of any team should have to plead for fans to be spirited, especially the coach of the one sport with record sell-out attendance each week.

The biggest problem with school athletic pride is our lack of attendance. The second is our lack of spirit. Even when we do attend sports, we show little enthusiasm. Football coach Bob Stoops had to beg fans to get rowdy for the Texas Tech game. To my great surprise, it worked. So here is my plea to you: do it again. Do it all the time. Do it at every sport.

President David Boren often refers to the faculty, staff and students of this university as the “Sooner Family.” Let’s act like a family and prove him right.

-Elise Johnston is a psychology junior.