Behind every great team, is a great student section. And at my high school, that great student section has a name. The gators. The gator’s duty is to get the crowd into the game and to help inspire the team to victory. So what does it take to be a gator? Well, gators need to be able to do three main things. Tail-gate, Dress, and Scream.

Tail-gating- Each year, the gators leave behind some sort of legacy that defines the gator group as a whole. And the class of 2011 has the ultimate legacy, the Hammer-time tail-gate. The hammer-time tail-gate was started by ten guys who had the idea to tail-gate before every game in-style. They have the whole nine-yards set up—a monster sized grill, three tables full of food, music, bean bags, Frisbee— all based around one cornerstone. The Hammer-time truck.
The Hammer-time truck is an old box van that the ten guys bought for a dollar amount just shy of a thousand. They took the truck and made it their own, installing shag carpeting, a new sound system (including an intercom), a play station video game console, three couches, and a new interior graffiti like paint design. The truck is the symbol of this year’s gators.
Dress- Each week, the gators have a theme. The theme is picked based upon the decisions of the main six or seven senior gators who serve as representatives to the student body as a whole. This week’s theme versus the Waukesha West Wolverines is Greek. People dress up like Spartan warriors, with leather skirts, chest plates, and shields. Other’s outfits consisted of toga’s and grass head pieces. Even the Greek God Hermes made an appearance.

Screaming-This is the most important part of being a gator. When the players are on the field and in desperate need of a big play, they look to the gators for support. Chants are screamed, and cheers are executed. Bucket Drums are banged, and everyone goes crazy.

So when the Wolverines came to town, the stadium was louder and rowdier than ever before. The stands were filled with Greek warriors, and they were ready to go. The atmosphere at the game was unlike anything I’ve seen before. Both schools wanted to beat the other to earn bragging rights and to keep conference championship hopes alive. And when our defensive back, Drew, made the game clinching interception against West, the Arrowhead Gators erupted, and rode a euphoric wave of victory that was capped off by the classic scoreboard chant. Without the gators, we would have a tough time pulling out wins like the one against West.

“Half the reason we won this game is because of you gators, without you, we couldn’t get going,” said defensive back David. It just goes to show you how much of a team sport, football actually is.