At every high school basketball game there are three games, the girls, the boys and the cheerleaders all compete to see which is better that night. This is extremely true in rival games, particularly Heritage versus Newton, two teams that haven’t played much in the past but there seems to be some animosity between the two teams (all in good fun?).
You know what I’m talking about if you were at Heritage last Saturday (January 17) night or if you were at Newton when they opened the season against the Patriots on November 21. The crowds really get into the game. There’s plenty of jabs between the opposing sides, and it starts with the cheerleaders.
During the boys and girls games, Heritage and Newton cheerleaders are in a constant back and forth with each other to determine who’s the best. It really, gets the crowd pumped, especially the students. If the HHS cheerleaders get a big “AHHHHHHH” or “OOOOHHHHH” from the crowd, you’ll see NHS students literally look at their cheerleaders for a response. Which probably isn’t a good idea, because the cheerleaders usually have a planned response, and students or parents looking their way for that response makes it worse, but this happens on both sides.
“During the boys’ game it’s entertaining to watch the cheerleaders go back and forth,” Tiffani Johnson, Lady Rams’ head coach, said. “I think that’s the third team on the floor. We don’t want to lose the cheerleading battle either. Anytime we’re in the gym, we want to own the gym whether it’s basketball, cheerleading or whatever else plays in the gym. We want to own it. I think it’s a big deal for the cheerleaders to come out and make sure they’re representing the Rams like we normally do, as well.”
Johnson added that although, she enjoys and appreciates the cheerleaders, for the most part she only hears them during the boys’ games.
“It depends on the game situation. If it’s a tight game, then I’m zoned in. I don’t hear anything but my players and my coaches. If it’s a game where it’s not as intense, I pay attention to it,” Johnson said. “I more so pay attention to it during the boys’ game, because I’m not coaching. I do like the defense calls and when we do something they have cheers for it. I know they’re there, but as a coach in general I don’t necessarily feed off of it. My players may, but I don’t hear it unless it’s down time.”
Heritage boys’ head coach, Vernon Denmark, shared Johnson’s sentiment. Denmark says that he tunes out most of the things in the stands, but added that the support of the cheerleaders was important to the players.
When the girls are done playing, both Newton and Heritage, you usually see them spread out in the crowd watching the boys and joining in on the fun. Some cheer as the cheerleaders do, some dance, others jaw at the opposing crowd, but they all represent their school in some form or fashion.
When talking to players about the cheerleaders, they say that they do hear the cheerleaders and that they always want them to get after the other team’s cheerleaders. One cheerleader told me that one of their players came up to them during a game and told the cheerleaders to turn up on the other team.
By my account, Heritage won the first battle in November handedly, but Newton struck back and took the win last weekend. These things matter, not only to the cheerleaders, but the fans and the student population.
The cheerleaders are the third team in the gym, battling for wins like the teams that compete on the court.
