Battle of the Fans: Frankenmuth Dance Party
January 21, 2012
FRANKENMUTH -- The hometown Eagles hosted Freeland in a boys basketball game Saturday night.
And a 250-student chicken dance broke out.
Sure, Frankenmuth calls itself “Michigan’s Little Bavaria.” And things were a little ramped up for the student section's "German Night" -- which, by the way, was scheduled long before this game was announced as the first stop on the MHSAA's "Battle of the Fans" tour.
But the rest of the dancing and singing that made up most of the game’s two hours? That’s just the usual for this “Battle of the Fans” finalist. The Eagles student section turns every boys and girls basketball game into a dance party. And everyone in the gym, regardless of allegiance, is invited.
“That is what we are best at. That is what we are known for,” Frankenmuth senior Brennan Webb said. “Since we do it for every single game, all of these other student sections expect that. And when you come to our house, that’s what you’ve got to expect.”
MHSAA staff and its 16-member Student Advisory Council members also will visit "Battle of the Fans" finalists Reese, Grand Rapids Christian, Rockford and Petoskey over the next month and shoot videos that will be part of an online vote on the MHSAA's Facebook page. The winner will be announced Feb. 24, and clips from all five videos will be shown during the Girls and Boys Basketball Finals in March at the Breslin Center.
Eagles leaders met before this season and planned out themes for all 20 regular season games plus every one through a potential MHSAA Finals run. Super Hero night was pretty cool. So was Christmas night. And of course, German night was a hit.
But mostly, it comes back to singing and dancing. Usually, the students bring the music in the form of a boom box. This time, they had a DJ complete with lights flashing over that section of stands.
Webb carries a blue notecard with cheers listed on the front and back -- in case he needs a quick reference during the game. Saturday’s sing-along included some hip-hop, a Bob Seger tune and a Christmas carol. They have chants for specific players on their team, a German chant for after successful free throws, and a breakdown for timeouts “to keep the energy up.”
“The past few years we had pretty funny energetic people,” senior Jacob Fahrenbruch said. “So it kinda took over, and we made every single person come to every single basketball game.”
Someone comes to all of them -- even if the section numbered just five for a game an hour’s drive away and the night before exams earlier this month.
Officials and opposing coaches both have paid compliments to the section for the atmosphere it creates. Students chant “Come on over” to those from opposing cheering sections -- and have had some takers. Eagles cheerers played a half-serious game of red rover with Marysville students during their teams’ volleyball Quarterfinal this fall. Just like the players, the schools’ cheering sections also did a postgame handshake. “We like to make friends,” senior Zack Robinson laughed.
An informal student section has existed for a few years. Themes were set mostly by word of mouth. A group of seniors usually led, but nothing too organized.
This winter, the Eagles got serious.
Seniors Webb, Robinson, Nick Veitengruber, Evan Escott, Jeff Hillman and Fahrenbruch make up a big part of the leadership assembly. They created a Facebook page for announcements. They also take advantage of a 15-minute weekly in-school televised news broadcast to teach cheers to their classmates.
Consider: Roughly 6,500 people live in Frankenmuth and the surrounding township. So during Saturday's halftime, when the Eagles’ student section emptied onto the floor and started chicken dancing, those fans accounted for roughly half of the student body -- and nearly four percent of the school district's population.
Frankenmuth's cheerers have caught some occasional grief from opposing fans when they go on the road. But their enthusiasm, positivity and open invite to join in has led students from other schools to say they wish they could be a part. And, of course, a little making fun of one's self goes a long way.
After a big Freeland shot Saturday, Eagles cheeres chanted, "In our faces!" And after Frankenmuth standout Kent Redford air-balled a shot, his classmates directed the usual "Air ball" chant at him -- all in good fun.
“It usually takes a while, but then we break them in,” Webb said. “That’s how we usually make friends. We make fun of ourselves. (They think) these guys are idiots, but they’re pretty funny. We’ll hang out with them.”
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)