An Introduction to the Rising Star Sports Column
By: Elle Shi, Grade 7, Sports Column Editor
The moment before games always starts the same. The noise fades a little. The nerves kick in. Everyone, players, coaches, and fans, lean forward, waiting for something to happen. And everyone knows that anything, statistics, bias, or players, can change once the game is on. However, modern sports are no longer contained within those 30 seconds before and after whistles. The game now stretches far beyond the field, the court, or the strip. It lives in film rooms, comment sections, group chats, and highlight reels. It follows the athletes home. It shapes the identity of the athletes, and sometimes, it raises questions that don’t always have easy answers.
That’s what Game On lives and breathes on.
Sports have always been about winning, but what if they’ve also been about meaning? Why do we play? Why do we watch it? Why does a missed shot linger longer than it should, or why can a single win feel like proof that all the work mattered? In a world where statistics are analyzed almost instantly, and opinions travel faster than the athletes themselves, the game itself has become just as important, if not more, than the culture around it.
Yet some of the most important stories in sports happen quietly, in the role players who sacrifice their time, in the teams that should or should not succeed, not because of star power, but because of their trust. They happen in the discipline of continuous practice. Growth especially happens when an athlete learns how to lose, recover, and lead. But soon, winning will no longer just be a goal; it will be an expectation.
Game On isn’t about tearing modern sports down. It’s about taking them seriously and looking closer. This column exists to question and understand trends, challenge assumptions, and highlight the layers of sports that don’t always show up on the scoreboard or on video. Some weeks, that means breaking down the strategies of popular teams. Other weeks, it means talking about pressure, leadership, or the moments fans never see. We might even get insight from athletes themselves.
So what does competition really mean now? Is the game still about passion, or has it become about performance or entertainment?
Game On explores this because sports matter to us, not just because they entertain us, but because they reflect you and an athlete’s performance. They show how we handle competition or pressure, how to define success, and how we respond to a situation when things don’t go our way. Sports teach us lessons, intentionally or unintentionally, about teamwork, resilience, and responsibility.
Maybe that’s why we care so much.
Every season that comes brings a fresh start and new hope. This time might be different. This team could be special. This effort might pay off. Whether you’re an athlete chasing improvement, a fan living and dying with each result, or someone who simply loves the game, these feelings can connect us.
When the whistle blows, the game is on. But the conversation doesn’t stop there.
