Every Friday night, as the South football team prepares for their game, stands of parents and students alike crowd into the stadium. At first glance, it seems that they are all gathering to only watch the game, but there is so much more to the football season than just football, senior Leah Park, Varsity Cheer Captain, said. From the marching band to cheerleaders, many elements contribute to the spirit of the football season.

In each and every football game, home or away, South’s cheerleaders are there supporting the Titan team. Through chants, stunting, and tumbling, they invoke school spirit among the football team and crowd, Park said.

“We have two or three chants where we say [phrases] and then the crowd yells it back,” Park said. “We have really high spirits when we do our chants at the sidelines to engage the crowd.”

One of the biggest goals of South’s cheerleading program is promoting a sense of school spirit, Amanda Middleton, Head Varsity Cheerleading Coach, said. 

“Our primary focus is engaging and exciting people at the event about being a member of our Titan community,” Middleton said. “If we can get [the crowd] excited and feel that sense of pride of being a Titan, then we’re hitting our goal.”

Another compelling component of the Friday night lights experience is South’s marching band. Not only does the marching band entertain the crowd, they also get a rare opportunity to show off their hard work, senior Mary Grace Plante, trombone section leader, explained.

“[Football games] are super important for [the marching band],” Plante said. “Besides competitions, we don’t get many chances to perform.”

Although daunting at first, Plante affirmed that performing during half-time is a rewarding and powerful experience.

“It’s kind of nerve-wracking at first when you’re watching the Poms girls because they’re killing it out there,” Plante said. “But as soon as they start announcing us, it’s like I get this huge sense of pride. I feel proud of myself. I feel cool and confident.”

While performing, Plante explained she feels like a completely different person. The uniform allows her to take up more space because of its stiff structure, making Plante feel bigger and empowered. 

“As corny as it may sound, it’s truly magical being able to perform on the field,” Plante said. “There’s nothing quite like hearing the student section cheering, and even if it’s not for us it still feels great.”

However, Plante feels as though the marching band’s hard work is often overlooked. She recalled times she has heard people say that the marching band’s performances are a waste of time. They rehearse on weekends, rain or shine, in order to be prepared for competitions and football games, Plante explained.

“We put in so many hours to perfect our craft and it makes me sad to see that we don’t get that much appreciation,” Plante said. “It’s especially frustrating during rehearsals. It sucks when we go out to the parking lot expecting to have a productive rehearsal, only to see that there are cars blocking our practice field.” 

Despite the sometimes negative attention, being in the marching band is like completing a huge puzzle, Plante explained. While performing at football games, they get to feel the satisfaction of putting all the pieces together to create one huge picture, she said.

“It’s an incredibly special feeling being able to perform on the [South] field,”          Plante said. “The Titan community as a whole is so much stronger when we’re all together.”