Battle of the Fans: Blue Crew Legacy
February 18, 2012
PETOSKEY -- Directly across the gym from the Petoskey student cheering section Friday, a toddler played on the first row of bleachers.
He wasn’t paying much attention to the Northmen’s boys basketball game against West Branch Ogemaw Heights. But he was wearing a blue T-shirt that read “Future Blue Crew” -- guaranteeing he will be soon enough.
At Petoskey High, a Class A school in a town where families have lived for generations, kids grow up aspiring not just to be the athletes playing for championships -- but also the Blue Crew members cheering them on.
While the other cheering section finalists in this season’s MHSAA “Battle of the Fans” contest were officially organized, for the most part, over the last year or two, Petoskey’s Blue Crew is nearing a decade as a constant at its school’s athletic events -- and a source of community pride.
“It’s such a legacy. Eighth grade, you’re looking forward to to being even involved in the Blue Crew, ... and now that we’re all seniors, everyone is listening to us, and we just want our teams to do well,” Petoskey senior Hayley Fettig said. “That’s a big part of it. We’re here to support our teams and cheer for our teams, and be a team ourselves.”
Petoskey was the fifth and final stop on the Battle of the Fans tour to find Michigan’s top student cheering section. Over the last five weeks, MHSAA staff and members of its Student Advisory Council also visited Frankenmuth, Reese, Grand Rapids Christian and Rockford. MHSAA-produced videos of all five finalists have been posted on the MHSAAsports YouTube page. Online voting will take place Monday-Thursday on the MHSAA Facebook page (you must “like” our page to vote). The winner will be announced Friday.
For most of its basketball history, Petoskey played in its old Central Gymnasium, an arena straight from the movie “Hoosiers” which seats about 1,500 fans and turned into a giant tunnel of cheers and shouts for every home game. But late in the fall of 2002, the newly-built high school opened a much larger gym that not only holds more fans, but also is more cavernous.
A bigger room meant a need for bigger spirit. And that sparked the Blue Crew, the brain child of members of the student council, some of whose names are still thrown around the halls to this day -- although the current seniors were in elementary school when it all began.
About 140 students piled into a “whited out” Blue Crew on Friday, plus 60 more in the jazz band that plays every home game and easily could be confused for one at the college level. To the left of the Crew sat about 50 more students not yet in high school. All sub-high school students are known as “Future Blue Crew,” while teachers are “Old-School Blue Crew.”
The Blue Crew often stands larger than it did Friday -- but on this night, the junior varsity and freshman basketball teams were playing simultaneously at other sites, and the hockey team was on the road. Petoskey’s Big North Conference foes are spread throughout the northern third of the Lower Peninsula, but the Blue Crew is known for making hours-long trips and constant support.
Members of the student council still play a big part. Those 12 students, plus 10 more take a one-hour leadership class taught by former girls varsity coach Matt Tamm. His classroom is a hall of memories itself, with photos of teams going back decades. Taking up center spot on a main wall is the original Blue Crew banner including its mission and three directives for generations to come.
“When I was younger, the older kids always told us, ‘You have to watch how we do this so when you’re older, you can do it how we did it,’ senior Brad Berkau said.
“You begin to learn when you’re younger what we do and how to go about cheering the right away. Not just boasting about our team, but not putting down the other ones too,” senior Nick Godfrey added.
That “right way” includes refusing to cheer negatively. Petoskey athletic director Gary Hice said it’s been four or five years since he’s had to tell the Crew that one of its cheers was crossing the line. Counselor Karen Starkey, who helps by coordinating parents to cheer with the students, said she hasn’t seen the Blue Crew respond to an opposing cheering section’s negative chant in at least two years.
Instead, the Crew pours its energy into more memorable ventures.
Starkey was diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2011, and her first chemotherapy treatment was on a game night.
She showed up in white, anticipating a white out. Instead, she found the entire Blue Crew in pink -- before receiving a group hug from the 200 or so students there supporting her as well.
“Those are the things these guys just jump out and do,” Starkey said. “It’s so not necessary, but it was just so cool.”
PHOTOS courtesy of Larry Tracy and CMA Action Photography.
SAC Sound-Off: Don't Forget Those Underdogs
October 1, 2012
By Madeleine Martindale
Lake Orion junior
At any sporting event, the superstars are the ones who draw us in. In track and field, the winning athletes keep the crowd roaring with pride as they pull ahead and cross the finish line first.
Meanwhile, the runners behind them receive only the periodic courtesy clap.
But, just like in the story of the rabbit and the hare, it’s the underdog athlete with the will to improve who can sneak up from behind and unexpectedly become a winning force – and can benefit most from your encouragement as you cheer from the stands above.
This is a story about my friend Corey, who was just that underdog. She is a solid athlete, but she was not the favorite to win her sprint events. Her ambition and positive attitude clearly stood out, though.
As a freshman, she had several spills caused by clipping the hurdles, and lived through her fair share of other embarrassing finishes too. Having a great family support system as well as teammates who believed success is small accomplishments strung together, Corey was unwilling to give up. She set her mind to improve her performance one day at a time.
Corey knew performing at a higher level was going to take commitment beyond the time limits of track season. She set goals, developed a plan and began working on it. Every day Corey would work extremely hard at practice. During the summer, she could be found at the track almost daily. She spoke her goals out loud and shifted her thoughts from “I might” to “I can” and “I will.” She continually clocked her times and pushed herself to reduce her best by one millisecond each time she ran.
The coach stepped in to monitor her progress too. He was willing to devote extra time to her since she had taken such initiative to improve. Anyone who paid attention to her work ethic knew Corey was going to achieve her goals. Also, it seemed certain the whole team would improve through Corey. If we wanted a chance at winning, we would have to increase our own training to keep ahead of her.
When track season arrived, Corey was ready. Her competitors were a little rusty from the winter, but they were still expected to finish ahead of her. I stood on the sideline and cheered for my team, but I was especially loud for Corey – who nervously anticipated her first race.
From the start, it was clear Corey’s efforts were paying off, and she was moving to the front of the pack. I ran down the sideline screaming for her to push a little harder and prove to herself she could do it. You could see the determination on her face and complete focus on getting to the finish line first. She had prepared for this, and it was clear she was not going to be defeated without giving her best fight.
She was winning … She won!
Her perseverance paid off and the cheers were all hers. Except for one.
The voice of one bad attitude came from the stands and made its way to the field. It angered those of us who heard it. It was from a parent who was less than happy that her daughter lost the race to “her” (Corey). As unkind as we felt it was to her daughter, who is a talented, hard-working athlete, it was equally unfair to Corey. We interpreted the inflection as the loss was a measure of poor performance rather than appreciation of Corey’s increased ability. Corey worked hard to produce such a notable performance, and deserved respect for this honorable win.
It doesn’t matter what sport you’re supporting; don’t limit your cheers to the superstar. Cheer louder for those underdogs. They dismiss their fears of failure and publicly face the challenge, falling often – which is harder to deal with the older we get. It’s this courageous attitude that should be encouraged, because it is the lesson that develops leaders in life. I feel it’s all of our responsibilities to foster their ambitions through positive encouragement and behaving respectfully when they finally reach their goals.
We cannot all be the superstar athletes you come to watch; but your support might keep us from giving up. After all, the moment you choose to sit in the stands is the moment you are an extension of our team. As such, we expect you to cheer on all of us like we do each other – not just the winners. Not just your daughters, sons or friends. Cheer for all of us as if we’re almost in first, with the finish line before us.
Madeleine Martindale, Lake Orion junior
- Sports: Track and Field (pole vault/sprints), competitive and sideline cheer
- Non-sports activities: Martindale created Our Hope Project, a service club she manages with other students from her school; also: bicycling, gymnastics, snowboarding.
- Favorite classes: Chemistry and Team Sports
- What's next: Martindale would like to continue her track and field at a university with a strong pole vault coach. She plans to study education in hopes of becoming a teacher and track and field coach while also continuing to work and mentor in her community.
- Shining sports moments: Setting Lake Orion's pole vault record, being named team Most Valuable Player as a freshman and qualifying for the MHSAA Final despite a taped ankle and while wearing tennis shoes; Winning the summer Grand Haven Beach Vault with a personal record of 10 feet; Placing fifth with her teammates at last season's Division 1 Cheer Finals.
- Pump-up jam: "It's a Beautiful Day" (U2)