No amount of school pride and spirit can change the fact that sometimes, our beloved ISU football team doesn’t do so well.

It is admirable that, despite wins or losses, we continue to flock to Jack Trice’s parking lot to tailgate each game day. Certainly we shouldn’t stop doing so, for what is a football team without its dedicated fans?

However, as a student body, we need to acknowledge that there are other ISU teams that deserve our devoted attention.

Our gymnastics team gets attention when the Olympics roll around, but many students forget about it soon after. Cross-country and track teams (for men and women) are similarly disregarded; even women’s basketball could do with a larger fan base. Additionally, it is probably a safe bet to say that some students don’t even know we have men and women’s golf teams, let alone women’s tennis, swimming and diving, and softball.

With more students than ever, there was a frenzy once football tickets for the 2013 season went on sale. Those tickets, as well as tickets for men’s basketball, sold out almost immediately.

But football and men’s basketball are just two of our 16 ISU varsity sports.

You can save a lot of money by choosing sports that you actually enjoy watching and cheering on, rather than simply the most popular sports. Most women’s volleyball games have free admission for students, and the price for nonstudent adults is as low as $5 per game. Surely this is an affordable amount for the majority of the Ames community.

If football and basketball are your cup of tea, then by all means don’t hesitate to cheer them on. But volleyball, for example, doesn’t receive the publicity and glory that football does, but the team definitely deserves it. Our team’s season record currently sits at 7-4, having already defeated rivals like Iowa and Nebraska.

The recent successes of the team have definitely drawn a larger crowd, but Hilton Coliseum is by no means full. And to any fan of team sports, the games are exciting: Volleyball has all the fast-paced action and aggression that appeals to spectators of sports like basketball and football.

Another minimally supported sport doing well this year is women’s cross-country. For those whose passions lie in the long, even strides of the runner rather than the quick action of team sports, cross-country is the team to watch.

ISU golf is equally in need of support. Though early in the season, it looks as if the men’s team could do great things. These sports, whether successful or not, could do with a little more student passion.

We have many teams that are more successful than our football team. And whatever your interests or your passions, there is surely an ISU sport to draw you in. The wild, social elements of tailgating certainly are fun, but there are countless other sports which provide unique charms of their own.

Remember that having pride in ISU sports doesn’t mean just supporting the football team or supporting the teams who consistently win. The lesser-known sports at Iowa State are just as entertaining to watch, and you can support your school while lessening the burden on your bank account.