Where are all of you jai alai fans hiding? Show yourselves.

In 1995, over 51 million Major League Baseball fans walked through the turnstiles. With 28 professional teams, each playing 81 home games, that makes an average of over 22,000 fans per contest.

The nation’s 565 college football teams saw a total of 36 million spectators in one year, and NCAA men’s basketball squads brought nearly 30 million people into arenas across the country.

In addition, an average of 62,000 fans poured into National Football League stadiums to watch the ’95 gridiron battles.

However, in 3,146 jai alai contests, only 3,642 people showed up to support the distant relative to handball.

This poor attendance is disrespectful to a sport whose name derives from a Basque term meaning “merry festival.”

Any athletic event that includes a hard rubber ball which is hurled at blazing speeds with the aid of a long, curved wicker scoop should be considered a healthy form of entertainment for all ages and should be well-attended.

When dividing the attendance totals into the number of contests held, it figures to 1.15 people per match. When you get rid of one of the contestant’s mothers, one begins to wonder, “Who is .15 of a person?” Even more of a tragedy is the fact that there are more judges observing the game (three) than fans.

The United States has an jai alai arena that holds over 5,000 people, but obviously that is unnecessary. But for a fast-paced game of strategy and skill, it should be.

Some people may stay away from the sport because of the injury risk. Bodily harm is possible when the ball, which is smaller than a baseball but harder and heavier than a golf ball, gets whipped around at 150 miles per hour. Then again, people have been hurt golfing and bowling as well. And football and boxing put millions of fans into the stands.

The biggest obstacle to increasing appreciation for the sport is that, despite arriving in the United States in the 1920s, it is still relatively unknown among the sporting community. One major problem is that the sport is confined mainly to the southeast corner of the United States.

But think about how many people travel to Florida each year. It’s more than those who drive to Green Bay to take in the gorgeous Wisconsin weather. Yet the Green Bay Packers sell out every home football game.

World-renowned jai alai players deserve the same respect. And the plan for getting them their just dues is simple.

If the average family, with two parents, 2 1/2 kids and a dog, would attend just one match a year, think what would happen to the sport in America. The potential is unlimited.

So the next time you’re heading to Disney World, take a quick stop by the nearest jai alai court. Just leave the dog at home.

Drew Harris is a senior in journalism and mass communication and political science from Peosta.