Battle of the Fans

Josh Money had gone to just about every Buchanan boys basketball game during his first three years of high school, usually one in a semi-full section of stands.

But as the senior “Trophy Buck” stood in front of his school’s newly-created “Herd” for its first theme night on Dec. 7, he hardly could believe his eyes.

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The champion is back. But the competition is all new and no doubt hungry to become known as the best cheering section in Michigan. 

Let "Battle of the Fans II" begin.

Reigning champion Frankenmuth along with Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard, Buchanan, Vandercook Lake and Zeeland East have been selected as finalists for this year's "Battle of the Fans II," which for the second year aims to recognize the top MHSAA student cheering section. 

Finalists will be visited for the following home boys basketball games:

Jan. 18: Frankenmuth vs. Bridgeport
Feb. 1: Vandercook Lake vs. Michigan Center
Feb. 5: Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard vs. Madison Heights Bishop Foley
Feb. 8: Zeeland East vs. Muskegon Mona Shores
Feb. 15: Buchanan vs. Bridgman

To read more, visit the article on Second Half >>>

The Battle of the Fans is back for the second year, and is ready to highlight the best student cheering sections across Michigan.  To get involved in the contest, follow these steps before the Jan 12 (noon) deadline.

1. FILM YOUR STUDENTS.  Get your video camera and film your student section in action on a game time.
2. POST TO YOUTUBE.  Edit your video to no more than 3 minutes, and post to YouTube. The deadline is Saturday, Jan. 12 at noon.  Remember: you must include at least 30 seconds of discussion about why your school should be named the winner.
3. EMAIL US YOUR LINK. Email your YouTube link to BOTF@mhsaa.com or andy@mhsaa.com.  We'll add it to our Battle of the Fans playlist.
4. FINAL JUDGING.  The five finalists will be chosen, and the MHSAA team will visit each school on a Friday game night.  The winner will be announced on Feb. 22.
5. #BOTF. Use the hashtag #BOTF throughout the winter when you have a great student section idea or when you see an act of great sportsmanship.

Here's one minute from last year's BOTF to get you pumped up.  For more videos, look in the blue box to the right.

Send us videos of your student section making noise on game night. We want to see videos that reflect enthusiasm and togetherness within cheering sections. We want to witness cheers that pump up the atmosphere without disrespecting all involved in the sporting event. We want to see a mixture of school spirit and positivity within student cheering squads. 

Anyone can create the Battle of the Fans video: student section leaders, members of the video production class, yearbook staff, student council or anyone else. We think, though, the best videos will probably use teamwork from the entire student body.

Here’s more about the competition…

JUDGING CRITERIA

Positive Sportsmanship

Student Body Participation

School Spirit

Originality of Cheers

Organization of the Group

Student Section Leadership

Overall Impression / FUN

VIDEO CONTENT & LENGTH

Videos should be between 90 seconds and 3 minutes long, and each video should contain two components. First, you must include at least 30 seconds of a student (or students) explaining how your student section embodies the elements listed in the judging criteria and why your school should be named as the top student section in the state. Second, you must include at least 60 seconds of your student section in action. Show us how loud, organized, positive, and original you can be. And don’t forget, sportsmanship is a key component to having one of the top student groups in Michigan.

HOW TO ENTER

Upload your video to YouTube, and then email the link to BOTF@mhsaa.com. Videos must be submitted no later than noon on January 12, 2013.  The MHSAA will create a YouTube playlist highlighting all of the videos.

THE FINALISTS

After all videos have been posted (Jan. 13), the MHSAA Student Advisory Council will choose the Top 5 Finalists. At least one Class C or D school will be included in the Finalist group. 

FINALIST TOUR

Members of the Student Advisory Council and MHSAA staff will tour around Michigan and visit all 5 Finalists on a home game night. We’ll shoot and edit our own video to document our experience at your school.  We'll also meet with the school's student leaders and write stories about our experience.  The videos and stories can be found on the MHSAA's Second Half website, and we'll also tweet the links and post to Facebook for other students to see.

  

Sportsmanship is an important part of educational athletics, and student cheering sections can be a key factor in having a festive high school event. The MHSAA Student Advisory Council wants to see your student section in action, and see how you contribute to a fun and positive experience. The MHSAA Battle of the Fans competition will let us all see just who has the top student cheering section in Michigan.

Send us videos of your student section making noise on game night. We want to see videos that reflect enthusiasm and togetherness within cheering sections. We want to witness cheers that pump up the atmosphere without disrespecting all involved in the sporting event. We want to see a mixture of school spirit and positivity within student cheering squads. 

Anyone can create the Battle of the Fans video: student section leaders, members of the video production class, yearbook staff, student council or anyone else. We think, though, the best videos will probably use teamwork from the entire student body.

Here’s more about the competition…

JUDGING CRITERIA
Positive Sportsmanship
Student Body Participation
School Spirit
Originality of Cheers
Organization of the Group
Student Section Leadership
Overall Impression / FUN

VIDEO CONTENT & LENGTH
Videos should be between 90 seconds and 3 minutes long, and each video should contain two components. First, you must include at least 30 seconds of a student (or students) explaining how your student section embodies the elements listed in the judging criteria and why your school should be named as the top student section in the state. Second, you must include at least 60 seconds of your student section in action. Show us how loud, organized, positive, and original you can be. And don’t forget, sportsmanship is a key component to having one of the top student groups in Michigan.

HOW TO ENTER
Upload your video to YouTube, and then email the link to BOTF@mhsaa.com or andy@mhsaa.com.  Videos must be submitted no later than noon on January 12, 2013.  The MHSAA will create a YouTube playlist highlighting all of the videos.

THE FINALISTS
After all videos have been posted (Jan. 13), the MHSAA Student Advisory Council will choose the Top 5 Finalists. At least one Class C or D school will be included in the Finalist group. 

FINALIST TOUR
Members of the Student Advisory Council and MHSAA staff will tour around Michigan and visit all 5 Finalists on a home game night. We’ll shoot and edit our own video to document our experience at your school.  We'll also meet with the school's student leaders and write stories about our experience.  The videos and stories can be found on the MHSAA's Second Half website, and we'll also tweet the links and post to Facebook for other students to see.   

DETERMINING A WINNER
The MHSAA Student Advisory Council will determine a winner based on the judging criteria listed above.  They will also conduct a vote using a Facebook poll to help in their decision making. They will not be using the actual number of votes on Facebook, rather they will use the number of votes in comparison to the size of the school.  500 votes from a school with 1,000 students is better than 500 votes from a school with 2,000 students.

BOTF II CHAMPION
The winner will be announced on Feb. 22.  The winner will be invited to the Class B Boys Basketball Semifinals at the Breslin Center on March 22 to be recognized and receive a championship banner.  We will also play a compilation of all five finalist videos on the Breslin Center HD scoreboard during the Girls & Boys Basketball Finals in March. 

TIMELINE
Jan 12 (noon) - Video submission deadline
Jan 18 to Feb 15 - MHSAA/SAC site visits
Feb 22 - Announce BOTF II Winner
Mar 22 - Winning school recognized at Breslin Center

FINAL NOTE
Even if you don’t think you can win or if you only have a few seconds of video, we’d love to see your student section in action!  We want everyone to have fun with this contest!