R-Jeneration: Students embrace school pride, show support for sports teams

It all starts when the whistle blows.

Two teams. The chanting begins.

"We got spirit; yes we do. We got spirit; how about you?"

Every school has them. They range from noisy die-hards to more reserved fans. But to varying degrees, they all display their school spirit.

"I get a sense of pride whenever I put on the Green Valley jersey," says Shavon Stevens, a senior at Green Valley High School. "I know we are one of the best schools in the state, and every game I give it my all and show other schools what it means to be a Gator."

Stevens, the captain of the varsity girls basketball team at Green Valley, not only shows her school spirit on the court, but off the court as well.

"If I'm not playing in a game, I try to wear as much green and blue as possible and cheer really loud for our team at the games and at the assemblies," she says.

Cathy Cho, a senior at Coronado High School, also enjoys showing her school pride. She created a signature look for her spirit days.

"On Cougar Spirit Fridays I wear my red tutu and my student council shirt to school," Cho says. "I like to show my school spirit. I have a lot of it."

Cho and Stevens are both active members of their high schools, which makes participating in school events so much easier.

While Stevens is the senior class adviser for Key Club at her school and a member of the ICAN Club, Cho takes part in Leo Club and Key Club, and is the student body treasurer at Coronado.

"I joined student council so that I could be involved with the school," Cho says.

Another Coronado student who is involved with the school is junior Sidney Poulson. Poulson is a swimmer for her high school as well as a former cheerleader.

"I love my Cougars," she says. "We have a lot of assemblies at our school to bring out our school spirit. We have a great atmosphere at Coronado and we are very positive."

Both Cho and Stevens agree with Poulson in that school spirit comes mostly from the fact that their sports teams win.

"Our sports teams dominate, hence the many banners in our school," Stevens says. "I'm proud to go to Green Valley, where we always strive for excellence."

Cho also says she believes that her school has a good sports program.

"My school is state ranked," Cho says. "The fans have a lot of school spirit. They take pride in being one of the best sports teams in our district."

All this school spirit eventually leads back to one main source, the original school spirit symbol: the school mascot.

"I was the Gator mascot at my school and I had to jump around, dance and cheer for the team," says Alex Chavez, a senior at Green Valley High School.

Chavez was the mascot for Green Valley for the second semester of his sophomore year. He didn't just dress up in the Gator costume and show up to the games, but he had to learn the calls from the cheerleaders to cheer along with them.

Becoming the Gator was not something Chavez thought about doing, but since no one else would do it, and the school needed a mascot, he decided to take on the job.

"It felt good that I was representing Green Valley in the Gator costume," he says. "It sounded fun to do, so I was glad I did it."

While Chavez was the Gator, he wanted to do more than just dance around and cheer, so he decided to introduce a new bit to the Gators' weekly routine.

"I had amazing dance skills and I even did a somersault," he says. "It hurt after, but it was worth it."

Whether it's the die-hard fan, the active student or the true school mascot, everyone can show their school spirit in their everyday lives.

"Even if this is my last year at Green Valley, I will always be a Gator at heart," Chavez says.