School Spirit is in full swing as football season kicks off

Fall is considered many people’s favorite season for a variety of valid reasons. Some kids are happy to get back to school and see the friends who were away at camp or visiting grandparents over the summer. Some are excited because the leaves change colors and their yards look pretty. Some are eager to show off their new fall fashions. But ask anyone that goes to Quince Orchard High School why they love fall, and you’ll probably get a consistent answer throughout the entire student body. One word: Football.

I have lived in the Quince Orchard community for my whole life and for as long as I can remember, Friday nights have been the epicenter of QO culture. I can recall hearing the boom of the marching band playing Quince Orchard’s fight song as I walked around on the track with my friends when I was younger. We looked up at the student section, famously referred to as the Red Army, and dreamily thought about the day that we would one day get to be a part of it all.

Since Quince Orchard High School first opened its doors to students in 1987, the Red Army has been a staple to QO’s athletic department. Back then, the so-called “army” only consisted of a few loyal friends, cheering on the football boys from their seats. But in the years since its opening, Quince Orchard has ingrained its students with the belief that school spirit and QO pride is a must.

Now, anyone who comes to a QO football, home or away, will have no choice but to notice just how far QO students will go to demonstrate their enthusiasm for being a part of the Red Army. From painted chests to red wigs, everyone goes all out to support the football team. We cheer with the cheerleaders, shout out encouragement from the stands, and dance along to the marching band.

Since showing school pride has always been almost a requirement for me, I am often surprised to find that other schools in the county don’t have as much of a focus on it. There have been countless times at away football games where I’ve noticed that the Red Army is larger in numbers than the home school’s student section. And just the other day, when telling my friend from another school that I could not hang out on Friday nights because of the football games, she was shocked because at her school, only the “weird” people went to the football games.

I know that I’m biased because I attend a school that is considered to be one of the most spirited in the county, but I truly believe that school spirit is something that should be practiced and displayed by everyone and every school. In my years of being a member of Quince Orchard’s Red Army, I have come to understand and appreciate all of the benefits of exercising school pride.  My examples, though Red Army specific, are applicable to any school or student body.

First is acceptance. Unlike any clique or circle of friends that may exist in a high school, the Red Army is completely and totally inclusive to anyone who is a student at QO. From the moment you step into the school as a wide-eyed freshman to the moment you depart the school as an experienced senior, you are a member of the Red Army. You are accepted into a group no matter how you look, what you wear, who you’re friends with, or what your interests are. And all you have to do to maintain your membership is show up, wear red, and be loud.

The second reason is equality. Sure, it’s tradition for the seniors to stand at the front of the stands while the freshmen are condemned to the back few rows. But unlike all other areas of a high school student’s life, you are not judged for how smart you are or how good you are at a sport. No one cares what your extra curriculars are, where you sit at lunch, or the GPA on your last report card. We all stand together. We are all one army with one common goal: to cheer our hearts out and carry our team to a win.

That brings me to the next reason why school spirit is so amazing: togetherness. The Red Army unites every single person affiliated with Quince Orchard High School. The cheerleaders fuel the enthusiasm of the students in the stands, who cheer on the students on the field. The marching band and Poms squad add to the excitement, and there’s enough spirit that parents, teachers, and younger kids can all feed off of it. As different as we all may be, we are united every Friday night at kickoff.

And last but not least, school spirit is just plain fun. You get to scream, shout, do the wave, dance around, eat, and be with all your friends. In the fast paced social lives of teens today, spending a Friday night engaging in simple, supervised fun is often a relief for both parents and students.

In my opinion, the belief in the importance of school spirit that exists at Quince Orchard should also be present in other schools. Many members of the QO student body adopt the customs and values that QO instills in us through its emphasis on spirit. These values make us better people and help prepare us for our futures after high school. I am proud to be a QO student and a member of the Red Army, and I love Quince Orchard High School. I don’t know how many high school students can say that about their schools.