Battle of the Fans III: Vote Now

February 18, 2014

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

We visited, we watched, we enjoyed and now we've returned from our five trips to this season's MHSAA Battle of the Fans III finalists. 

And now it's your turn to vote for your favorite in this season's search for Michigan's top high school cheering section. 

Vote today through Thursday on your favorite of these five (enrollments in parentheses) – Beaverton (427), Bridgman (320), Buchanan (465), Frankfort (152) and Traverse City West (1,653) – by liking, sharing and re-tweeting on the MHSAA’s FacebookTwitter and Instagram sites.

But before you do, take a few minutes to watch all five videos and read all five stories behind the section by clicking the links below. 

The contest is sponsored by the MHSAA Student Advisory Council, which will have the final vote on the champion. SAC members will use all resources available to make their decision(s) – including giving significant weight to the public social media vote. Votes will be valued proportionate to the size of the school receiving them (for example, one vote for Class D Frankfort will mean more than one vote for much larger Class A Traverse City West). 

The champion will be announced Friday on Second Half. Video of all five finalists will be compiled and shown on the main scoreboard during the Girls and Boys Basketball Finals in March at Michigan State's Breslin Student Events Center. The winner will be invited to Breslin for the Class C Boys Basketball Semifinals and presented a championship banner at center court. 

And now, the finalists, in alphabetical order:

Beaverton

Read all about it: "Beaverton 'Creatures' Dominate Bleachers"


Bridgman

Read all about it: "Bridgman's 'Orange Crush' Rules the Hive"


Buchanan

Read all about it: "Herd Dat? Buchanan Back for BOTF III"


Frankfort

Read all about it: "Change Does Frankfort's 'Cage' Good"


Traverse City West

Read all about it: "TC West 'Creatures' Of Cheer Habit"


Battle of the Fans III is sponsored in part by the United Dairy Industry of Michigan.

SAC Sound-off: Who do you cheer for most?

May 2, 2012

Our MHSAA Student Advisory Council members all play at least one MHSAA varsity sport, and through their service to the council have learned much more about high school athletics throughout the state.

But when it comes to following sports teams, almost all do their most cheering for those at the college level.

We surveyed our SAC members on what level of sports they pay attention to most. Here’s a look at their answers.

  • Ten of 12 who submitted answers said they follow college sports most. Another SAC member said she follows both college and pro equally.
  • The breakdown of colleges was a little surprising. Three said the University of Michigan, two said Michigan State University, but two more said Ohio State University. We also had one vote for Hillsdale College and another for Baylor University.
  • Two put down the colleges they will compete for next year – University of Miami, Ohio (Grand Blanc’s Bailey Truesdell, in golf) and Notre Dame (New Buffalo’s Lena Madison, in track).
  • Truesdell was specific in his selection – he follows Miami’s hockey team the most. Michigan football and softball also were listed by SAC members.
  • Four professional teams made the radar of SAC favorites. Two follow the NBA’s Chicago Bulls, and a third follows the Miami Heat. The only Detroit teams to get a mention were the MLB Tigers and NFL Lions, one apiece.