Cheer On Your Team

It's not our habit to run a photograph in this edito­rial column, but sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, as they say. In this case, it cer­tainly

counts for a lot. Last Wednesday, the WP Cardinals volleyball team played against Tri Cities Prep at Kison Court, but the home crowd was a bit thin, and few, if any, stood to cheer the girls.

It didn't help that quite a few of the WP high school­ers had gone to watch the WP Mustangs play against DeSales.

Head coach Jesse Buehler said she was disappointed in the anemic turnout. A larger and more spirited home crowd could have helped the Cardinals' volleyball team, which lost against TCP. "It makes a big difference," she said after the game. "We felt we were missing our Twelfth Man." Somehow head football coach Jeff Bartlow and other high schoolers got the message, or at least the word of Wednesday's poor attendance, and pledges were made to turn out in force for the girls' next game.

That was Tuesday night against Dayton, and prom­ises were kept. Just a few minutes into the first game, a contingent of more than 30 WP students showed up on the Dayton court, and their enthusiasm was palpable. The competi­tion between the fans from each team was as fierce as the moves on the court. The cheering never let up, even as the Cardinals went down against the Bulldogs. "It was a pleasant surprise," Buehler said about the supporters who traveled from Waitsburg for the game. "It was really appreciated." In the end, the Bulldogs turned out to be the better team Tuesday night. But no matter. The Cardinals felt like they had their Twelfth Man back. Buehler and her team were left with only one regret. "We wish we could have done better for them (the fans)," she said. "The girls wanted to show them what they have and make them proud."