The Tiger Cage, Princeton High School’s student section, always shows up and makes sure that everyone at the game knows they’re there, loud and clear. Additionally, the Tiger Cage is not only found in the stands at home games, but also operates through an external Instagram page where student athletes and their achievements are displayed to the greater PHS community.
“It kind of lets everyone know that a game is happening and lets everyone from PHS know to support the games that are happening throughout the week,” said Vincent Min ’28. “If we win, it goes crazy. Everyone knows that you win, it’s so cool.”
The Tiger Cage has also been part of some of PHS’s biggest games, and their presence has led to many fond memories within the PHS community.
“[Morale is high] after any home win, especially a late one. I think Notre Dame’s a good example,” said Kian Asiaie ’27. “When [Andre Ansarah ’26] scored the last-second winner, everyone was just kind of going crazy. … It’s just so good to see everyone celebrating over a moment.”
Indeed, the Cage’s presence encourages PHS athletes to give their best effort while also increasing morale.
“We see that there are people there to support us. We’re already wanting to play hard, but it makes us want to play just even a little bit harder,” said Benjamin Kahn ’27. “I really appreciate when people come out and support our sports, and it definitely makes me a bit more excited to play.”
Sometimes that little boost from seeing their fellow students, even those who don’t traditionally follow school athletics, coming out to support them and their games makes all the difference.
“[The Cage] brings people together, whether they like sports or not; I [see] people in the stands when I usually don’t see them,” said Asaie. “It’s always such a good feeling.”
In sports, where the momentum of the game is just as important as the actual score of the game, the student section plays a large role in dictating the flow and energy of the game. Having the student section cheer for or against your team feeds into the mental part of the game and influences how the athletes perform, either encouraging or distracting them.
“I guess this brings energy through our whole team, especially with everyone just cheering and hearing them support us,” said Min.
Some of the appeal for the Tiger Cage comes from the fact the group is run by the students themselves and not faculty from the school, which creates a direct peer-to-peer relationship that encourages students to participate as well. Specifically, the Cage’s managers remain anonymous to prevent students from feeling excluded or others from taking over the spotlight from athletes. In fact, the nature of the Cage as a student-driven page helps foster viewership.
“When teachers tell it to you, it’s probably gonna be a graphic with a picture of someone playing the sport, probably from 2012,” said one of the Tiger Cage’s three managers. “But when it’s a bunch of kids and it’s a funny picture of your friend that you see every day in the hallways, it means something more. If it can make you laugh, then it’s probably more enjoyable than something that’s serious.”
Recently, the Tiger Cage has been trying to add a more playful aspect to the content they post to better engage the student body.
“What we’ve tried to do this year is post less formal stuff so more funny pictures and handmade graphics to show that it’s actually run by students,” said one of the managers. “It’s not just some project, ... and it’s actually increased the student attendance at games.” In addition to attracting more students who typically don’t follow athletics, the Tiger Cage is working on expanding across grade levels as well.
“I think the last few years [the Tiger Cage has] been a little disconnected, especially when I was an underclassman; it was like the seniors were always in the Tiger Cage and no one else is,” said Asaie. “I think this year, we’ve done a really good job [in terms of] incorporating the younger grades into it. I mean, as time goes on, I’d like [younger students] to come in and not just older kids.”
Still, there is some work to be done to make sure that every team is recognized by the students. Even though football is still the main focus of the Tiger Cage, it has been looking to work on including other sports on the page as well.
“I decided to run the account because I wanted to revitalize school spirit within Princeton High School,” said another one of the Tiger Cage’s managers. “I feel like it has not been a key factor within the student body, and one of my main goals for this year is to attend at least two sporting events for every single team, both boys and girls.”
At the end of the day, the Tiger Cage helps engage the student body with their sports teams, bringing attention and appreciation to the athletes that represent us.