Walking through the crowded hallways, one often encounters male athletes dressed in their dad’s finest suits accessorized with hiking boots or dress shoes or the female athletes as ninjas or in the occasional “Risky Business” attire.
The purpose of dressing up really is different for everyone. “I enjoy dressing up, I think it’s really fun,” said Caroline Valerio ’12, captain of the Varsity girls’ swim team. Many would agree that it is a nice change wearing clothes that would not regularly be worn on a school day. Jennifer Dimitrief ’13, a volleyball player agrees. “It spices up the day,” said Dimitrief.
For members of the football team, dressing up is not just fun. “We really dress up so that fans can know when our games are,” said Burim Trdevaj ’13, a varsity football player. Boys don’t usually roll out of bed and decide to throw on a suit for no reason. Their motive is to notify.
Female athletes dress up to increase awareness of their games as well. “Dressing up lets the school know that there is a sporting event that day and therefore promotes it,” said Valerio. If it weren’t for dressing up, there would be significantly less fans.
Dressing up has been an ancient tradition. “Boys soccer players have worn ties on game days for nearly 40 years,” said Dan Woog, Varsity boys’ soccer coach. Throughout those 40 years generations of fathers and sons have worn ties to school.
“Its been going on for years. Even when I was in high school we did the same thing,” said Cecily Anderson, coach of the Varsity girl’s field hockey team. Although time has passed, dressing up has remained a prevalent tradition that all sports maintain.
Strutting through the halls in a onesie is not an easy task. Thankfully, students who participate in dressing like this don’t have to do it alone. They have an entire team by their side. Woog feels this does create a sense of unity in the team. “Anything that everyone does together creates team unity,” said Woog. Unifying the team strengthens their teamwork and their ability to play together on the field.
Hearing dressing up, one could wonder whether this only entails wearing formal outfits to school. Valerio notes that for girls dressing up is often more “outrageous.” This is safe to say considering the girls’ swim team has been seen wearing pajamas, ninja outfits, and bear hunter attire. Boys can be equally as “outrageous” in their fancy shirts, pants, ties, and shoes, and on some occasions their warm ups. It might not seem as wacky, but anything besides the usual jeans and a tee is unusual.
To many athletes out there it is an important part of game day to be dressed up. Getting the players pumped up and ready to play fuels the fire to win the game. Each player must have the desire to play his or hear heart out. This desire shines through in the willingness to dress up before each and every game. Players demonstrate their dedication to their town every time they throw on a tie or dress.
