School spirit plays a huge role in high school athletics, especially here at TWHS. Every year, a select group of “Cardinal Crazies” are elected to run the student section at TWHS sporting events. These students come to every event they can: home or away. Andrew Holben was one of the seven chosen this year.
“We organize the student body at sporting events as well as keep the students informed, we also organize events such as senior tag while being the bridge between students and staff,” Holben (grade 12) said.
As school years pass, new Crazies are selected through a “draft” by the previous Crazies. They discuss among themselves whether or not a certain student will fit the mold of a Crazy. Based on the results of this discussion, the new Crazies are chosen. These few people are capable of leading the whole student section and generating tons of energy in each game.
“At the end of the year, we all decide (crazies) on who would be the best fit to rally the Cardinals and cheer on our sports programs,” Cardinal Crazy Sam Couch said.
Additionally, social media posts are made to inform the student body about any given event. This could include game days, awards given to students and teams, or significant days. The Crazies make sure students are aware of upcoming events, such as the TWFH state championship, in which they posted all required information on Instagram the day before the match.
“We all post on the accounts, not one person is in charge of the social media,” senior Reese Laakso said. “We try to make the posts intriguing and direct attention to important events.”
One of the TWHS Football team captains, senior Andrew Shifflette, explains how important the student section is for him, stating that their energy surges help motivate the team. “The student section energizes the players and provides extra motivation to give it their all,” Shifflette said.
Within the 23/24 season, the student section helped the football team to a 3-2 home record, including a huge win against Dublin Jerome. Though the Cardinal Crazies cannot attend every single sporting event, it is clear that they are still important for all TWHS sports teams.
