The clock is ticking down.We’re in the lead, but the intensity is still palpable.“Let’s go Cutthroats, let’s go!” is pounding into our ears.We can feel the stomping of feet vibrating through the bleachers and up our legs.We feed off of the team and they feed off of us.Our throats are aching from screaming but we love it and we love having something to cheer for.
Most members of the TCS community don’t realize that our school has a history of sporadic yet intense fans.The ’98 and ’04 boys’ basketball teams, both of which went to state had full bleachers at every home game.No teachers got rowdy, but the students made up for it. “There were some parents, but I’m not going into details on them,” chuckles Rem.The ’90 girls volleyball team was excellent and was on their way to success at state, with rabid fans in the bleachers for every game.Unfortunately, right before the state qualification game, the entire team and the coaches came down with stomach flu and puked their way through, losing their chance to go.About twenty years ago, when our boys’ soccer team was competing at a high level against large, competitive schools, fights were known to break out.“Once, all the fans rushed the field and there was a brawl.” He laughs, “Even John Maksik ran out.That’s when we put in the extra line around the boys’ field.I call that the ‘Maksik line.’”
The Community School, usually a less-than-spirited group of fans, has just experienced one of the most exciting sports seasons anyone can remember.With the arrival of Daniel Gomis from Senegal, the boys’ basketball team experienced an actual winning season.And, according to Rem, wherever there have been winning teams in TCS history, every once in a while, there have been fans.For many of us, this has been the first chance to participate in serious fandom.The sad truth is that being a small, private school, we’ve never had the athletics of a larger, less academically focused institution, and therefore never the sports culture.“The biggest attendance of sports games in recent years has actually been to support Line Team,” says Rem, “Until now.”The excitement of this year has been attributed to Daniel; the 6’9” athletically gifted exchange student brought spectators from Carey and Wood River just to watch TCS play. Eli thought that having such an involved fan base made the games more exciting and fun.Rem emphatically agreed that players adore having such encouragement and that it amps up the level of play.“Girl athletes seem to appreciate it the most,” he said, “as they usually have less support to begin with.”Unfortunately, the attendance of the girl’s games was mostly due to the success of the boys’ team, as the girls didn’t have the one necessary qualification for fans: a winning season.Yet both teams were lucky enough to have had an increase in support this year.
The fans appreciated the thrill as well, says Dylan, one of the most involved spectators. “It was fun, just like going to a ‘real’ sporting event.Everyone was more fired up and everything was more exciting.” The intensity of the games was noticeably ratcheted up by the volume and dedication of the fans, although some faculty members felt that they were sometimes unsportsmanlike and too rowdy, shouting things like “In your face” and “How do you like that?” to opposing team members.Rem seems to think that’s bulls**t, as almost every high school, college or professional sporting event has shouting, team rivalry, fan rivalry and a high level of competition.He believes that most school administrators don’t know enough about sports to understand how involved fans really are.
No one is asking for brawls, nor for intense and angry rivalry, but a bit of competition is healthy and shows that the students and the fans are invested in the team’s success.When asked about fan competition, Dylan said that it usually just involved group cheers, a little bit of trash talk and said that “there were a couple schools with cheerleaders, but we would show ‘em up and get really loud.”Although there are differing opinions about the accepted levels of fan-ing, the fact that students show up to every game, yell their hearts out and stand up for their team is testament to the fan spirit of The Community School.The Super Fans turned the season into an exciting and competitive experience for all, made games more fun for the team and unified our community to rally behind Daniel and TCS.