Mark Olencki
Sofia Lathbury ‘26, Lilly Habart ‘26, Hailey Hirter ‘26 and Erin Adams ‘26 attended the Spartanburgers game on Aug. 22. Wofford students attend Spartanburgers games regularly.
America’s favorite pastime has arrived in Spartanburg; will Wofford students support it?
The Hub City Spartanburgers, a minor league baseball team, began their first season this past spring. The team is a part of the South Atlantic League, joining other local teams like the Asheville Tourists and Greenville Drive. Currently in their 2025 season, the Spartanburgers boast 64 wins and 66 losses.
However, it is not the matter of wins or losses that brings people to Fifth Third Park, the baseball field located in downtown Spartanburg. It is the brisk evening breeze, the crunchy popcorn, cool beer and laughter of children that draw people to the field. The Spartanburgers games aim to foster a greater sense of community by partnering with local businesses and highlighting Spartanburg talent.
It is not just the broad Spartanburg community that enjoys the Spartanburgers games, but the Wofford community as well. Since the season began, Wofford students have posted images of them and their friends attending the games on social media. Earlier this month, the Spartanburgers hosted a Wofford College night with students getting free tickets to attend.
Though on a Tuesday night, the game saw high attendance of Wofford students. Many posed with the mascot, lounged in the grass and sipped giant lemonades. Students seemed less interested in the actual game playing and more excited about who they knew from school that also attended the game. Lively conversations were had, pictures were taken and the evening passed quickly.
After that night the question is: will this community involvement from Wofford students continue? Or will students instead retreat into the confines of the lawns on campus?
This phenomenon, mentioned in conversation, but rarely defined, is the “Wofford Bubble”. The elusive term seemingly means that there is an imaginary boundary between Wofford College and the surrounding Spartanburg community. Though Wofford students may engage in some ways, for example with internships or volunteer work, this participation is generally lacking, resulting in few “roots put deeply in the ground”.
The “Wofford Bubble” is usually regarded negatively yet also understood as “just how things are”. The effect of the bubble is that not only does the Spartanburg community see Wofford and its students as being separate, but also students are not able to fully enjoy their college experience.
Is this a fair understanding of the relationship between Wofford and the Spartanburg community? Evidence seems to support that in fact, the relationship between Wofford students and Spartanburg is strengthening. A recent example being the “Yard Party” at Fr8Yard downtown. This was an event put on in collaboration with Fr8Yard and Wofford’s Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Other examples include the Northside Living Learning Communities and senior bar crawls to local bars and breweries downtown.
The student turnout at Spartanburgers games all season long, especially for Wofford College Night, is a positive indicator of the efforts made by Wofford students, if even unintentionally, to engage with Spartanburg.
As the Spartanburgers season comes to an end, Wofford students must look for a new way to engage with the community. This relationship is vital to not only making Wofford feel like a home away from home, but also the Spartanburg community in which it resides. It is in the students’ hands whether to change this harmful reputation or not.