Keep the spirit moving

Tom Forquer

While their team valiantly wins or loses on the field, the high

school football supporter can be struck by any number of ailments,

including fatigue, low morale or even disinterest.

Fortunately, the teams and their supporters are looked after by

the music and cheerleading programs.

One way to keep the spirit flowing is a good fight song. Though it

is the official song of the United States Navy, Newport Harbor High

has long utilized “Anchors Aweigh” to bolster the spirit of its

troops.

The song is used not only to open the first and second halves, but

to celebrate every touchdown “with the exception of when they score

nine or 10 times,” said Rob Henthorn, the band’s director.

“Some of the songs get people up and going when the game has

gotten mundane, like if we are winning too much or something like

that,” Henthorn said. The band plays such songs as “Jungle Boogie”

and “Tequila” when their team excels into monotony.

Another way to get things going is a good warm up. To get their

team ready to charge through their opponents, Edison’s cheer squad,

as with most schools in the Southern Section, prepares a giant sign

to run through prior to the opening kickoff, as well as the start of

the second half of every game.

The visual affect lets everyone know that “it’s Charger time, like

an alarm going off,” said Bob Strachan, the Edison cheer squad’s

coach.

“Our girls have been working very hard on their cheers to find the

ones that have the greatest crowd appeal and will elicit more crowd

involvement,” Strachan said.

Some fighting words can also be helpful. When playing their

crosstown rival, Costa Mesa, Estancia’s cheerleading squad pulls out

a carnivorous chant.

“What do we eat, what do we eat? Mesa meat, Mesa meat. How do we

like it, how do we like it? Raw,” said the squad’s advisor and the

school’s assistant principal, Robert Cunard.

While antagonism can be good for spirit, so can diplomacy. The

Newport Harbor and Corona Del Mar cheer squads traditionally dine

together the night before the annual contest between the two schools.

“Obviously there is a rivalry because it’s the Battle of the Bay,”

said Jennifer Cilderman, the Newport Harbor cheer advisor.

Cilderman said the dinner is a chance for them to say hello to old

friends, noting that many of them already know each other through

church, school, or other activities.

Despite the excitement of a good football matchup, not everyone

has the same level of enthusiasm.

“Truthfully, some people don’t go to the football game for the

football game. They go for the other entertainment,” said Chris

Northrop, Estancia’ marching band director.

Estancia’s band has been developing and building a halftime show

based on songs from the musical “West Side Story.”

Heidi Grumet, a spokesperson for the Edison band, said Charger

fans can look forward to the development of a super hero halftime

show, which opens with the theme from “Batman.”

The Harbor cheer team has found that stunts go over well with

spectators.

“The crowd likes to see the tumbling and stunts because it shows

their athleticism,” Cilderman said of the Newport squad. She also

said the team will take on a tumbling consultant this year with the

intent to “go on to that next level.”

In addition to tumbling and stunts , Huntington Beach High will be

bringing back its song squad this year after several years of

dormancy. The squad of seven will be performing dance routines.

“The girls have all come from different backgrounds training wise.

We are very fortunate to have that talent coming to our school,” said

Sarah Catron, the Huntington squad’s advisor.

Whether the support from the fan base is fickle, fair weather or

fanatical, the teams can always depend on their spirit program to get

them through the battle.

“The football players derive a certain amount of energy that comes

from knowing the girls are out there for them,” Strachan said.

The Edison squad goes beyond making signs for its team to run

through. Charger cheerleaders go as far as creating personalized

signs that they covertly place on players’ houses the night before

the game.

“I think we help the overall school spirit because there is always

one large group working with cheer to get the crowd excited,”

Henthorn said.