Battle of the Fans: We Are Ram Nation
February 7, 2012
ROCKFORD – Standing near the front and center of Rockford’s massive sea of black Friday, six students all played significant roles in keeping 500 of their closest classmates organized and focused on their work for that night.
Seniors Joe Belliel, Sam Anderson and Shain Showers, junior Katie Hartnett and sophomores Kory Young and Casey Watters are just some of the leaders of their school’s student cheering section, Ram Nation, one of five finalists for the MHSAA's "Battle of the Fans" competition. But representing three grades and various social groups, they also are the essence of what the section has accomplished since forming last summer.
Despite boasting one of the state’s largest high schools, Rockford has always taken pride in being something of a small-town community.
Still, there are nearly 2,600 students in grades 9-12. It’s just about impossible for everyone to know everybody else. And only a handful can play on the boys basketball team. But a hard-fought victory – like Friday’s one-point win over rival Hudsonville – allows the entire student body to take ownership while making a massive impact for the school’s sports teams.
“Obviously, (the players) could have done it. But we have a big impact keeping them going all the time and really pumping them up,” Rockford junior Katie Hartnett said after that 36-35 win. “I think they really appreciate it. We’re here to be here for them, not just to show off for ourselves.”
Only one trip, to Petoskey on Feb. 17, remains on the MHSAA Student Advisory Council "Battle of the Fans" tour. Videos of all five finalists are being posted on the MHSAA Facebook page for an online vote that will take place Feb. 20-23. After that vote and SAC discussion, the winner will be announced on Feb. 24. Clips from all five MHSAA-produced videos will be shown during the Girls and Boys Basketball Finals in March at the Breslin Center.
Ram Nation began as a suggestion from a parent who noted the inconsistent crowd support from students over the last few years. Take Belliel as an example. Perhaps the most vocal of the group’s hierarchy, he admits he went to “maybe four basketball games” last season.
Now, everything is a must-see event. Anderson, a member of the student council, maintains a giant dry-erase calendar in the cafeteria that lists every school extracurricular event. At a recent hockey game, Ram Nation filled one side of the rink. On Nov. 19, the volleyball team played in the MHSAA Class A final at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Center, while the football team played in a Semifinal only a few blocks away. Ram Nation members ran back and forth to support both.
And students know they better show up early. Belliel got a call Friday from someone who already was in the stands at 4:30 p.m. – although the girls basketball game started at 6 and the boys at 7:45. Rockford High houses only grades 10-12, but freshmen and some middle schoolers also augmented the crowd.
“I didn’t think it would be as good as it is. I just thought we were going to start it and get it better,” Anderson said. “And all of a sudden it just hit, and it was pretty big.”
Indeed, Ram Nation made things happen quickly. 
A small group met a few times over the summer. A Facebook page was created. Watters researched online for any cheers he could find. Theme nights were planned, T-shirts made and sold as something of an unofficial “membership” to the section.
“I think we’ve always been somewhat of a close-knit community. But I think maybe instead of a divided student body – the freshmen, juniors, the sophomores – it’s pulled them together,” Rockford athletic director Tim Erickson said. “The more you have, the louder you’re going to be, and the more enthusiastic you’re going to be. (Ram Nation) has created more of an atmosphere like that.”
Another cool touch: Every home basketball game is a fundraiser. Friday’s was for "Hoops for Haiti." A few weeks ago, shirts were made with “I believe that we love Steve” printed on the backs. The spin-off of the popular “I believe that we will win” cheer was in support of former boys hoops coach Steve Majerle, who stepped down after the last season and is battling Parkinson’s Disease.
It’s another example of an unexpected benefit of Ram Nation’s creation.
Teams are definitely getting more support from classmates. But classmates feel they’ve come together for something bigger as well.
“It’s honestly ridiculous. You don’t realize how much of an impact the student section has on a game until you’re in and you’re playing,” said Showers, a football and baseball player. “I can remember there were times in the season when I’m trying to yell across the field at one of my teammates, and no one can hear anything. That was the first time I’d ever experienced that. And the year before, it wasn’t like that at all.
“(But) honestly, Ram Nation’s first goal isn’t to cheer our teams on and get our teams going. It’s about unity. Not just students and teachers, but the whole community, bringing everyone together. I think that’s what we’ve accomplished so far.”
PHOTOS by Rockford junior Aimee Reece (top) and senior Jeremy Hoekstra (middle).
Battle of the Fans: Small Town, Big Reese Spirit
January 30, 2012
REESE – Everything about Reese is small – the dot on the map, the town itself, its population, its number of retail stores, the high school gym.
But one thing looms large, especially for opponents stepping into the school’s gym this winter: the spirit of the Rowdy Rockets.
Town folk will tell you. On a blustery Friday night in Reese, there isn’t much to discuss in the way of making plans. They’re already made. If the boys or girls basketball team is playing at home, the gym on S. Van Buren Road is the only place to be.
“You get more than 20 people there, it’s like 80 percent of Reese,” junior Nick Arnold said. “After the games, we hold town meetings.”
All joking aside, it was the hot spot again Friday night for a Greater Thumb Conference boys varsity match-up with Cass City. By the third quarter of the junior varsity contest, the bleachers were nearly full.
Reese is one of five finalists for the MHSAA Student Advisory Council’s “Battle of the Fans” competition. MHSAA staff visited both the Rockets and Grand Rapids Christian on Friday after starting the tour Jan. 21 at Frankenmuth. Trips will be made to both Rockford and Petoskey over the next three weeks, with videos of all five finalists posted on the MHSAA Facebook page. After an online vote and SAC discussion, the winner will be announced on Feb. 24. Clips from all five MHSAA-produced videos will be shown during the Girls and Boys Basketball Finals in March at the Breslin Center.
The full bleachers are great news for a school that struggled some in recent seasons to get good student turnout. Few would show up, or show little enthusiasm. That led to grumbling in the parent section about the lack of support. 
Last season, that began to change as a group of student leaders began to emerge and organize what today has become the Rowdy Rockets.
“Our student section is absolutely awesome. I love the energy, the excitement, the positive,” Reese athletic director Dave Derocher said.
“You just get that one person,” junior Drea Ramirez said. “And that one person will start a fire.”
Students streamed into the stands Friday covered in maroon and gold – not by choice, but by mandate.
That directive came during a 20-minute pep assembly at the end of the school day during which the Pep Club solidified the section’s cheers for that night’s game.
“We told them this afternoon, ‘You aren’t getting in if you’re not wearing the colors,’” junior Kyle Yatsevich said.
The Rowdy Rockets kicked things off by forming a fan tunnel for the hoops team to run through during its grand entrance. It was hard to tell who was more fired up, fans or players.
The first instruction given from the bleachers during the opening quarter was one of a decidedly less rowdy nature. The entire section sat in silence for nearly half of the first period of play – by design. Then Reese scored its sixth point – and roughly 150 students (of about 350 in the student body total) launched from their seats and screamed for the entirety of the ensuing Cass City possession. The silent treatment had officially ended.
There weren’t many quiet moments to be had inside the gym thereafter. Repeats of “DE-FENSE,” the always-popular “spirit fingers” during Reese free throws and plenty of pre-planned cheers involving change in possession put exclamation points on game play throughout the night.
Two sing-a-longs in particular brought the section to a boil: arms flailed during “YMCA,” and voices carried during a (surprisingly well-sung) version of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin.’” The sea of maroon and gold was unified in nearly everything it did, including a fan roller coaster that would rival any student section.
Halftime also brought that feeling of unity. The Reese Pom team darted onto the floor, but only after the entire student section had rushed to snag seats on the hardwood in front of the team benches. Rowdy Rockets sat in appreciation of the two-minute routine and then cheered for their schoolmates, just as they had done all evening for the basketball squad. Senior Pep Club leader Cassidy Stephens instigated the class-by-class Tug-of-War contest that completed the halftime festivities.
Throughout the evening, the theme of all-encompassing support was especially clear.
“Why would you want to take and follow someone who always is pessimistic, down in the dumps,” Arnold added. “You’ve gotta be up and cheery. I’m not saying we’re all walking around as Pippy Longstocking. But we’re pretty happy people. … You’re always leading by example.”
In the end, the Rockets pulled out a win over Cass City – and in a way that only a small-town gym can attest, the fans took as much pride in that victory as the players themselves.
They played to the point Arnold had made during the assembly earlier that day.
“We always try to be positive and loud. Those are the hallmarks of our student section,” he said. “We want to be the sixth man on the court.”
Check back Tuesday afternoon for video of the Rowdy Rockets in action.
PHOTOS by Reese senior Katie Ackerman and junior Abbie Gnatkowski. Report by the MHSAA's Andi Osters.