Spring sports lacking love?
Michael E.
features editor
It’s November. The leaves are falling, the temperature follows suit. Luckily, Edina High School students don’t get too cold as they stand packed shoulder-to-shoulder inside Kuhlman Stadium. Just a few months later, students stand, again packed too close for comfort at the freezing Bramaer Arena, cheering on the hockey squad.
Now think ahead to the spring: The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, it’s a perfect time to be outside and the fans are—where? Not piling into a spring sports venue, that’s for sure.
Just last week, the Edina Track and Field teams hosted a prestigious invitational, with numerous state-leading teams competing. Reported attendance? Probably less than 150. However, there was a severe storm warning, so chances are all the fans simply moved their energy inside to a synchro meet….or, maybe not.
If you were to visit the high school in the fall or winter seasons, you would be overwhelmed by the pride, the school spirit, and the excitement leading up to a Hornets football or hockey game.
According to the athletic office, the Homecoming football game drew about 5,400 fans, 3,200 of those students. There were 3,300 supporters at the game against Wayzata, though the large majority of those were EHS students. On average, about 4,500 fans pack Kuhlman stadium for a Friday night game.
Edina boy’s hockey games draw fewer fans, though there are more games. About 500 students file into the grandstands at Bramaer Arena on any given night, though once Section 6 playoff games and the State Tournament roll around fans clamor for tickets, sometimes buying seats off street vendors and paying above face value—something you would never see at a track meet.
With just as many spring sports available, it’s anyone’s guess as to why the attendance is lacking. There are actually 11 spring sports: Boys and girls track, baseball, softball, boys and girls golf, synchronized swimming, boys tennis, and boys and girls track.
None of these sports draws anywhere near the fans that the powerhouses of football and hockey do, though. It leads a spring athlete to wonder: Where is the love?