Jack Kartsonis is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Mesa HIgh School for AZPreps365.com

An enormous change has swept across Mesa High School football over the past few years -- increased fan support. Attendance for the Jackrabbits’ football games has grown each year since 2022, as students, families, and alumni are showing up to games in bigger numbers.

Friday night’s with Mesa football have become “an experience players and fans look forward to,” assistant athletic director Kilea Thomas said.

Senior wide receiver and four-year player Griffen Yamamoto seconds this sentiment, saying that community support is the biggest change he’s seen during his time at Mesa.

“The community and everybody else is showing up,” Yamamoto said. “Earlier in my years, people wouldn't be showing up to games and all that. We're more of a family, and we know each other well now.”

Multiple factors have led to the increase in support. First and foremost, the Jackrabbits have been winning more, which has led to increased attendance.

“We have managed to make the playoffs for a few years now in a row, which not only makes it more exciting, but it shows that Mesa football is on the rise,” Thomas said. “Fans show up because we are winning.”

Chelsey Elicio, president of the Mesa football booster club, noted three additional factors that have led to the change: new team captain meetings, an expanded social media presence, and a newly established youth football program.

At the captains’ meetings, the leaders of the different Mesa sports get together and plan out their support for each other. The volleyball team will show up to football games, and, in turn, the football team will show up to volleyball matches. This has led to bigger crowds at all Mesa sporting events, not just football.

The Mesa athletic department also recently implemented “Zedo Games” in honor of Zedo Ishikawa, a Mesa football player who who died after he was accidentally shot in 1932, and remains a hero for the Jackrabbits’ today. At these games, attendance is free for all Mesa athletes and food trucks and games are brought out to further engage fans. Both Thomas and Elicio noted these games have increased attendance.

Additionally, an expanded social media presence has contributed to more fan support.

“Our Instagram presence is a lot more [involved],” Elicio said. “With this generation, social media is a huge play in it, and our social media for Mesa has stepped up a lot this year. As boosters, our social media presence has increased a lot as well.”

Another big factor has been the implementation of a youth football program for Mesa. The program, led by coaches Josh Roberts and Andrew Sheridan, gets kids engaged in Mesa football from an early age.

“Coach Roberts and coach Sheridan have been working really hard for the last four years in building our youth program and getting the younger generation also excited to play football,” Elicio said. “That's increased our football program as a whole, so now you're getting more parents coming out [to games].”

The impact of increased fan attendance cannot be understated. Fan support bolsters the Mesa football program in every way; the players play with more passion, funding increases, and the community is brought together.

“As your fans increase, I think the players do better,” Elicio said. “There's a direct correlation with fan attendance and fan excitement. When the crowd is excited and loud, it pumps up your football players, and it gets them excited. It just helps them perform better when there's more attendance.”

One of the biggest effects of more support is more funding. Mesa football is in a better spot to financially support itself because of increased attendance.

“Financially, increased support has contributed to ticket sales and it leads to more funding for facilities, equipment, and other program needs,” Thomas said.

Last, and perhaps most important, fan support fosters the local community around Mesa football, creating a reciprocal relationship in which the team and community help better each other.

“Fan support for football is vital in Mesa because it unites the community, fosters school spirit, and brings pride to the area,” Thomas said. “This support also builds a stronger connection between the school and the community, showing students that they are part of something larger than themselves.”