At football games, much of the energy comes from the student section, and last year with high COVID-19 rates, there was no student section.Thus, only people with tickets were able to attend games. The only way you could get these tickets was either from a football player or from a cheerleader. Offsetting the energy in the DAC.

While The Flock was not allowed to attend games, the Falcon Brigade was still there cheering on the team. But the lack of fans affected the morale of the Brigade.

“Playing in the band last year was boring because last year we weren’t able to go on the field,” junior Javier Carreon said. “But this year the vibe is different because of the student section.”

Most of the student body has had very little experience with attending Staley events. Without dances and not allowing full capacity at football games. Those experiences are now back, and one of the first events to come back is the student section at football games. The student section leaders are seniors Tommy Martin and Ella Bartkoski. Their jobs are to decide the theme for the game nights as well as hype up the crowd.

“It’s completely different than last year,” Bartkoski said. “Last year there was barely anyone at the games. It was hard to be loud and cheer for the team when there’s no one there.”

With the student section returning at full capacity, this gives students hope for the future.“

The spirit at the game is a lot higher than freshman year,” junior Sydney Becker said. “Just because it was taken from us, so we want to be more involved.”

That was shown with the number of people participating in homecoming spirit week, something that was missed out on last year.