By Charlton Azuoma

I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited to go to a home football game, participate in Spirit Week festivities or just be proud of representing the red and black of the Wolverines.

I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited to go to a home football game, participate in Spirit Week festivities or just be proud of representing the red and black of the Wolverines.

During my freshman year, I was distant from all the action and fun, only tasting the true high school experience occasionally when I came to the Upper School for volleyball practices or to watch football and basketball games. But being a senior and having been included for the last couple of years, I can’t help but want to go out with a bang. Yet, I think that my newfound fanaticism goes even deeper than that.

I admit, last year was pretty rough for our school spirit. A relatively new cheerleading squad and all of the drama over fan behavior drained our school spirit. With our football team not winning as often last season as they are now, I have to admit that it was hard to look forward to home games other than the annual Homecoming game.

I know I’m not the only one who feels that winning football games is the driving force behind a good start to the school year. I’m also not going to lie and say that football isn’t the main factor that determines our level of school spirit. So far, the team has been doing their job with a 4-2 overall record, and they’re doing well, it only helps to increase the enthusiasm for the other fall sports.

I am fully aware that the football team just lost, but one has to take into account that we lost by a mere three points to one of the better teams in our league, who pummeled us 34-14 when we played them last year.

The cheerleading squad has also shown a remarkable improvement from years past with a lot of new recruits and a rise in talent and experience that gives them the ability to actually outnumber and out-perform other schools’ squads.

The Fanatics have been doing a much better job at rallying support for all of the football, volleyball and water polo games.

They are publicizing more fall sports games, while at the same time keeping things good and clean enough for the administration.

The drum line provides an even higher level of excitement at the games. The first time I heard there was going to be a drum line, I, like most people, was a little skeptical. However, they have proven a lot of people wrong after the first game alone.

And it’s not only these obvious things I find myself getting excited about. Whether it’s searching on Twitter to see how our teams are doing or texting my friends after games to find out how they played, I feel that it all adds to the excitement.

During the pep rally, I made sure I sat in the front row, to soak up every bit of the energy.

When I found out that my friend was chosen to be the mascot at the pep rally, I genuinely felt jealous because I wished I had the opportunity to rile up the students for what was one of the more exciting pep rallies I’ve ever been to.

So, if you’re a student at this school and for some reason just can’t seem to find the school spirit this year, take another look around. What’s there not to like?