It’s Football season again at Steinbrenner, and many students and parents alike are ready to fill the
stands this season and cheer on the warriors at all of our home games. Although there has been some
controversy and migration of the infamous warrior student section.
The controversy first started back in the 2019-2020 school year, when the student section moved for the
first time. In years past, the student section would be on the opposite end- away from the Steinbrenner
band and closest to the entrance of the fields. That year, students and staff collectively decided that to
increase the noise and hype they moved to the student’s section near the band.
Now on this first move, there were two major complaints. The first ended up being the parents of the
band who went to see their child perform, being separated from them, and the second was that it was
too small to fit all the students attending the game. Although, the first reason is why the student section
was moved back to its original place near the entrance.
Then this issue of the student section stays dormant for the 2020-2021 school year, due to COVID,
when most students weren’t allowed to attend the football games. Now this year, the school is starting
off the 2021-2022 school year great with the first home game student section being in the spot it was
moved back into.
But the second home game was different, a petition started by sophomore Tanner Powers to get the
student section moved back near the band. Stating on the petition that “it allows for a better, louder
atmosphere for the football team to get them pumped up to win,” said Powers.
The petition was able to get 125 signatures, and that was enough for the student section to be moved
back to the section near the band. Although the problem with the parents and the size of the student
section didn’t disappear. Although the parents of the band may be upset the actual band member have
only positive feelings towards this move of the student section.
Similarly, Junior Marcos Aquino Vassallo said “it felt empty without the student section there,” talking
about the first move of the student section in his freshman year.
With this, he also included, “First it’s going to be rocky since it’s been two years since we’ve had our
student section back but hopefully as time moves on the student section and band gets the connection
again. I miss that connection because it was fun to have them cheering now it feels like they don’t really
care,” said Vassallo. Although he does feel that the student section has lost some of the hype that it had
in the years past, this of course could be due to the time that was taken off for COVID. And that the
students just have to adjust to the new area again.
There haven’t been any recent complaints from any parents of the band yet, besides the few who
decided to sit in the student section. But then immediately regret that decision as the hoards of
screaming teenagers rush in to cheer on the warrior football team.
In the end, wherever the warriors end up, the student section will continue to cheer and support the
Steinbrenner football team as they have always done.
Katie Lind // Staff Writer
