The game against Kapaun Mt. Carmel is the biggest game of the year for the BC cheerleaders. It does not matter what squad you are on, both varsity and junior varsity come together for this one game. Together, we unite as one team to help bring the maximum of crowd leading to the stands.
When practicing for game day, we pull out all of the stops, including the crowd’s favorite stunts: libs (one-footed stunts), pyramids and front cradles–whatever can get the student section excited for the game.
When it comes to the actual game day, we prepare posters with sayings such as “Holy War” and “Crush the Crusaders.” We hang those posters in the atrium and in the locker room. After chapel, the football moms help the cheerleaders hand out Gatorades to the players and coaches.
During the school day we are all anticipating the game. We cannot wait to get game day ready for the “Holy War.” All of the upperclassmen help the underclassman with their hair, makeup, and getting the whole team psyched for the game.
Before the game starts, the varsity cheerleaders walk over to greet and give a gift (usually candy) to the Kapaun cheerleaders. In the past, the Kapaun student section has “boo-ed” us and even chanted for us to fight each other. But the Kapaun cheerleaders always welcome us with respect and smiles.
When standing in front of the student section, you can see how excited the crowd is, which usually gets us enthusiastic. Having both squads out on the sidelines helps us cheer in front of the parents and student section–something we could not do on a regular game. This game is always a favorite because the student section participates in the cheers. It is safe to say that when we are ahead on the scoreboard we are at our maximum excitement. On a less exciting game, it is hard to keep the student section involved and participating. On these games the students section starts to clear out at half time. On the Kapaun game, though, the students stay the whole time, making it more thrilling for us.
One thing that is unique is to see the faces of the students while on the sidelines. When doing a cheer you can see the reaction to a play. If the student section seems happy, we finish the cheer and rally as much as possible. If they seem like a play went wrong, then we stop the cheer and try to keep the students’ spirits up.
Cheering against cross-town rival Kapaun Mt. Carmel is truly a unique experience as we are able to have a crowd that is excited to watch the game, have the whole team cheering, and to see the Golden Eagles come together against the Crusaders.