This past week was full of excitement across campus as we celebrated our homecoming. The week was capped by the annual homecoming game. While attendance for the game was a good turnout, the reason should not be simply because it was homecoming.

If you were to ask the majority of students here why they chose to attend ULM, most would say a combination of proximity to home, major or cost of attendance. No matter the recruitment, we are all now students of this institution, and we are now representatives of all things ULM.

This university is striving for greater things each year academically. Enrollment is now reaching new heights, and our campus is constantly being renovated and improved in many ways. Our academics are top-notch and are being recognized nationally for its improvements. We have a lot to be pleased of here in Monroe.

When you receive your degree, you should be proud of both names on it. We should be proud of everything this university does and should support all endeavors wholeheartedly.

The easiest way to do so is by supporting the athletic teams. The biggest problem holding us back is school pride. If you go to any other Division 1 university in the state, the students and fans there will undoubtedly tell you their school is the best in every way. Why don’t we?

While we may not have the teams with the best record, we do have teams that fight to compete and achieve new heights each season.

Our men’s basketball team has had back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in a while. As a result, you can expect Fant-Ewing Coliseum to be filled nightly for their games to cheer them on to victory.

An hour or two before that game, our women’s team are fighting just as hard to win as well though. They need the same support as their counterparts.

I get it. Nobody wants to watch their team lose, but you’ll never know unless you actually come and support your team.

Any person who has played any sport at any age can confirm the motivational boost you get when you know someone is rooting for you. It is a special situation in which players and teams play beyond their normal capabilities. From there, the results are endless.

Sometimes, it is really that simple. If we want to have great athletic teams that compete for conference championships, we can, as fans, fake it until we make it. At the very least, we can make it seem as if we are already there, because the perception creates the reality in sports.

Our neighbors in Ruston are athletically no better than us in any sport, but their fans will make you believe otherwise, because of their school pride. There is no reason we should be lacking in it here.

We have track runners who rank nationally each year. We have a volleyball and a soccer team who have played well this year and will compete for championships in the following month. Even our football team will have a chance to close this year out with a bang and still has a chance to win and even go to a bowl game.

Let’s support our teams that represent us all over the nation. Let us represent them here at home with unwavering pride. That is all I want for my university… for my teams that I will support through the good and the bad.

At the end of the day, let’s be proud to be ULM Warhawks, because we are the best.