Fighting Irish Stand Together
February 7, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
ANN ARBOR – The day Bridget was taken off her ventilator, all of Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard gathered in the school’s chapel to pray for the 12-year-old member of their family who soon would finish her fight against a rare form of brain cancer.
Senior Adam Olszewski had never seen anything like it. He’s been around the school through the careers of multiple siblings and understands what makes his school a special place. But “her story touched everyone,” he said. “That’s the closest I've ever seen the Richard community.”
The saddest days at Gabriel Richard have only a slight connection with the Fighting Irish’s student cheering section, a finalist in this season’s MHSAA Battle of the Fans II.
But the collective camaraderie present as the school and community mourned signifies the solidarity that has made cheering at the “The Greenhouse” a decade-long tradition and regular part of student life.
“People who come through Richard or are around the Richard community, they say they see something different in how people interact with each other, how close we are,” Olszewski said. “It’s on a different level.”
And that togetherness was easy to recognize during the MHSAA’s Battle of the Fans visit Tuesday for the Fighting Irish’s boys basketball game against Madison Heights Bishop Foley.
Gabriel Richard – which finished sixth in the selection of five finalists for last season’s inaugural BOTF contest – was the third stop on this year’s tour. The MHSAA also has visited reigning champion Frankenmuth and Vandercook Lake, with trips coming up to Zeeland East and Buchanan before Facebook voting begins Feb. 19. The champion will be announced Feb. 22 on Second Half.
Olszewski’s memories of the Irish’s cheering section go back into the early 2000s. His oldest brother Jeff led it as well before graduating in 2008, and even before his family played a part, Adam remembers seeing mentions of the section in the local newspaper.
That recognition through the years has meant a lot to Gabriel Richard, which has 515 students and is much smaller than three Class A schools also sharing the city – Huron (1,810 students), Pioneer (1,670), and Skyline (1,645) – and its local media spotlight.
But in another obvious way, Gabriel Richard is different than its three larger counterparts. It’s a Catholic school, drawing students from multiple Catholic feeder schools, and in turn, multiple communities that border Ann Arbor.
Developing togetherness would seem to be difficult with students coming from various places each day. But the opposite has been true.
As Olszewski explained, the students at Gabriel Richard can find their own niches – sports, or drama, art or other interests. The classes also have retreats each year that bind them tighter.
At a school Gabriel Richard’s size, everyone knows everyone else at least by name or face, and at one point Tuesday the cheering section chanted for a cheerleader by name, at other times did the same for individual players, and Olszewski jokingly scolded individuals throughout the section as he led the cheers and kept the group organized.
The Irish cheerers can be found just about everywhere, even when multiple teams are playing on the same night. On Friday, a spirit bus will take students to the school’s hockey game before bringing them back to watch the boys basketball team. The section has shown up plenty of other places from Comerica Park for the Catholic League baseball final to the school’s powder puff football games.
“We’re definitely bonded,” senior Aaron Tishkoff said. “As a student section, we pride ourselves like that. … I had a friend ask, why can’t we do this at our school? People just won’t do it. And we’re like, we've always done that. That’s just what we do at basketball games.”
“When I got here, the first few (games), it was a lot different,” said senior Blaise Stearns, who transferred from another area school midway through last year. “Everyone comes here and just has fun. You get more close with everybody.”
A major bonding point is the school’s annual "Masquerade for Mott," a fundraiser for C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan. In its fourth year, the event includes nearly two weeks of fundraisers and cheering section theme nights, with the main event next Tuesday’s boys basketball game at Detroit Catholic Central – which joined with Gabriel Richard last year to create a fundraising competition.
A friend of Olszewski’s died last year from a heart condition, and he visited Mott to present the check from the 2012 "Masquerade." On Friday, the cheering section will have a “Zebra Night” in honor of Bridget, who was a big fan of the Gabriel Richard football team and whose favorite animal was a zebra.
Although Bridget’s older brother is an underclassmen at the high school, most of its students didn't know her. But they did know her story and felt bonded by being part of Gabriel Richard – and coming together in her honor again Friday will mean a lot.
Like they have this week for “Superhero Night,” “Beach Night,” and “’70s Night,” they’ll join together to have a good time for a good cause. The message is simple: This is fun. This is what we do. And this is what we'll continue to do when the next class takes over leadership at the front of the crowd.
“It’s a positive attitude, especially if they see the senior guys like us having a positive attitude. It’s really easy for them to follow,” Wolf said. It’s been a tradition here for so long. It’s not that hard for us to do. Kids know it’s Friday night, we go to a basketball game. That’s what we do; we go and have fun and we participate in the student section.”
Subway is a sponsor of this season's Battle of the Fans II contest.
PHOTO: (Top) Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard students follow leader Adam Olszewski as they ride the "roller coaster" during Tuesday's boys basketball game against Madison Heights Bishop Foley. (Middle) "Moses" emerges from the top of the Gabriel Richard student section. (Photo courtesy of Todd Sexton.)
BOTF X: Buchanan's 'Herd' Begins New Era with Same Bucks Energy
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 8, 2022
They knew each other, but weren’t really friends at that point. Six months later, McKean just remembers thinking it would be fun. But the magnitude of the opportunity sank into Tucker’s recollection much more heavily.
“He grabbed me,” Tucker recalled last week,” and changed my senior year.”
Over the last decade, Buchanan High School’s “Herd” has established itself statewide as an example of prime student section culture. The Bucks have won the MHSAA’s Battle of the Fans three times, and Buchanan’s appearance in this year’s BOTF X Finals is its fourth-straight and seventh overall in the championship round. The Herd has served as a teaching example for how student sections can organize, grow and transform a school – and Tucker’s experience has been among the latest examples of the good that results from that work.
“This year was just completely different for me,” Tucker said. “It’s so much fun; it’s hard to explain. Getting to help lead the chants, being up front at games, it’s an experience you can’t recreate in a different way.”
We caught up with The Herd for Friday’s home boys basketball game against South Haven, the MHSAA’s second of three visits as part of this year’s BOTF finalists tour. Midland Dow hosted the first Jan. 28, and the final visit will be at Traverse City West on Feb. 8.
Below is our highlight reel and 10 “X Factors” from our trip to Buchanan.
1. Battle Plan
Friday’s visit coincided with the culmination of Buchanan’s “Winterfest” week. Activities included the crowning of class representatives between the girls and boys varsity games and a collection taken up to assist with medical bills for a student suffering through a tough bout with COVID-19. This also would be the seventh win of a current eight-game streak for the boys basketball team.
2. Honoring Tradition
Anyone who has witnessed a Buchanan basketball game over the last decade would have recognized the “Welcome to the Woods” and “B-U-C-K-S Bucks” chants and the dance mashup among familiar Herd activities. With seven BOTF finalists appearances, there’s a lot of Herd video out there – and current leaders have watched for ideas that while old are new to them.
3. Hitting Reset – Sort Of
Two years of COVID-19 – and especially 2020-21 with spectator limits – forced current leaders (almost exclusively seniors) immediately up front, without the usual buffer junior year to watch how everything works. But there was some benefit: “We started new and we’re growing different this time,” senior Brennen Weaver said. “We’ve always had The Herd, it’s here, but it’s like we cleared the white board and we’re now redrawing a new thing that’s starting.”
4. Why it Works
Current leaders were raised in this culture, which makes things easier to continue – but other schools can follow the same plan. The section is basically a “spirit team” that brings enthusiastic students together for regular planning meetings. There’s an upperclassmen-driven leadership structure, but input is supplied by students from all classes. The Herd from its start has made a priority of visiting Buchanan’s elementary and middle schools, teaching those students how to cheer and cultivating the next leaders. They work closely with three teacher advisors and the blessing of administration, and have made a point of becoming active in the community as well. All of it is mostly in the name of fun, and that keeps interest up – clearly, as about 170 students from a school of 380 filled the stands Friday.
5. So What’s New?
The Herd always has taken pride is attending a variety of sports. But this year’s football cheering section surpassed all previous renditions. The Bucks also cheered on their classmates during a competitive cheer meet. They supported at cross country, wrestling, and even at a marching band competition in Detroit. And of course there are new themes to go with the ones that always get the rowdies excited.
6. Nicest Place in America
Reader’s Digest named Buchanan exactly that for 2020, and while The Herd wasn’t mentioned in the feature on the community, there’s no doubt that strand is woven through the student section as well. Example: A “Mean Stinks” anti-bullying campaign incorporated into the 2014 Bucks section still is part of its message today. “I can’t imagine living or going anywhere else,” senior Macy Orphanidis said. “Buchanan is such a tight-knit community, and I love every single person here and I know everybody. It’s like my family now.”
7. “Which Way? This Way”
The chant is basketball related, but the message is a way of cheering life. It’s all positive. And can be pretty simple: Earlier this season an opposing student section was cheering “air ball” and trying to get a Herd response, but instead was ignored. And the negativity from the other side stopped. “They have the energy,” senior Joy Kaltenbach said. “In sports a lot of times we naturally just get mad when something bad happens instead of being happy when something good happens. So I feel like they just need to redirect their energy.”
8. Come Join Us
Another Herd tradition brought back this year is a halftime conga line, and on this night the Bucks got at least a handful of South Haven students to join in. During football season, McKean went across the field to the Niles student section and unsolicited led those students in a chant. It in part comes down to confidence. “Even if you’re not confident, you have to portray yourself as confident, because if you’re nervous they won’t listen to you,” McKean advised. “If you walk around with a lot of swagger holding that megaphone like a boss, they’ll listen to you.”
9. Pro Tip: Work with What You Have – It’s Plenty
Every student section has the ingredients, starting with a leadership group filled with different personalities – some will want to focus on creating cheers, others themes or how to make the most noise. Involving variety also includes bringing in leaders from different sports, extracurricular activities and friend circles. Those representatives in turn will get more from their groups to take part.
10. The Herd Will Continue to Roam
That’s the end game. “I just want to teach (younger students) to stand out in their crowd and try to be their own leaders, so maybe that can be the ones who can be in the position we are,” Weaver said. “So they can give their energy and be the one providing all the loudness and fun cheers. (We want to) find those people who really embrace it and want to do more.”
The Battle of the Fans X finalists tour will conclude Tuesday at Traverse City West, with public voting on the MHSAA’s social media channels starting Feb. 15 and the champion announced Feb. 18.
PHOTOS (Top) Buchanan's "Herd" cheers during Friday's boys basketball win over South Haven. (Middle) Students shine their phone lights during pregame introductions. (Below) The Bucks follow their leader on a rollercoaster ride during a break in the game. (Photos by Jessica Elliott.)