And the 2020 BOTF Winner is ...

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

February 20, 2020

A standard for Michigan’s high school student cheering sections has been set over nine years of Battle of the Fans.

Carter Aalfs has been part of it almost from the start.

He caught the fever as a fifth grader in 2013, watching an older cousin lead Buchanan’s newly-organized “Herd” to the BOTF II championship. Two years later, now in seventh grade, he stopped into the MHSAA’s finalists interview session with high school leaders to tell us how he already was becoming part of the growing tradition as a member of the younger students’ “Junior Herd.”

He was in the stands for Buchanan’s second BOTF championship in 2018. And this year, as a senior, he was one of the leaders directing from up front, showing his classmates the way to the Battle of the Fans IX championship – a victory that made Buchanan the first three-time winner in BOTF history.

"We've established a place where you can be yourself. You can be outgoing. You can have fun. And you don't have to worry about anybody judging you," Aalfs said. "Many people don't get to have an experience like this where you get to be with all your friends, all having a good time, while also supporting your school.

"Everybody is going to go crazy. Everybody is going to be so excited about it. Just because of all the hard work we put in during the whole season, all the way back into football season. All the preparation it took, the long meetings, and just making it all come together."

Buchanan will accept its Battle of the Fans IX championship banner during halftime of the first Division 2 Boys Basketball Semifinal on March 27 at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center. Finalists Saginaw Heritage and Zeeland East also have been invited to Breslin to be honored for this season’s achievement.

Buchanan was chosen based on a vote by the MHSAA’s 16-member Student Advisory Council influenced by public vote on the MHSAA’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram sites. A total of 10,086 social media votes were received – the first time the total has reached 10,000 – with those results then equated against a school’s enrollment. This year’s results came out to 3.5 votes cast for every student attending one of our finalist schools.

Buchanan totaled the most public social media support. Combined, the three finalists received more than 10,000 RTs, Shares and Likes on social media since Tuesday, including 6,500 on Instagram.

Other numbers to consider from this season's contest: The application videos have been watched nearly 13,000 times, and the MHSAA-produced videos from our finalist tour stops have almost 2,000 views. The stories detailing the three tour stops plus Tuesday’s explanation of how to vote and the announcements of semifinalists and finalists had been viewed more than 6,000 times as of 8:30 this morning. The three Instagram stories covering our visits were viewed nearly 6,400 times combined.

The Student Advisory Council based its vote on the following criteria: positive sportsmanship, student body participation, school spirit, originality of cheers, organization of the group, section leadership and overall fun. Nine semifinalists were selected from the original application group before Buchanan, Saginaw Heritage and Zeeland East were chosen for MHSAA visits. Caro, Frankenmuth, Hart, Petersburg Summerfield, Reese and Traverse City West also were semifinalists.

In addition to its three championship years, The Herd was a BOTF finalist in 2014, 2015 and 2018. Heritage was a finalist for the second straight year, and Zeeland East was a finalist in 2013.

Below are our final takeaways from this year’s finalist trips:

Power of Ownership Award: Saginaw Heritage

What we saw: The Hawk Nest has come so far so fast over the last two years, from pretty much nothing to two-time BOTF finalist. Visiting for the second year in a row, we were surprised at first to learn the foundation of the section had changed from being rooted in the school’s Leadership class to being completely student organized and directed. At the same time, students taking the reins is a section evolution we’ve heard about or seen for ourselves over the last decade of BOTF, and there was little doubt the Nest this year was taking its cues from student leaders including representatives from three grades. The Nest showed off another nice turnout for our basketball game visit considering the highly-ranked hockey team also was playing on the same night. Students who did attend this boys basketball game were invested in the action and cheered throughout. We also enjoyed how a wide variety seemed to have roles during our visit, from conducting the “light show” during pregame warmups to taking part in various cheers and a halftime relay competition.

Why we’re fans: We have a lot of respect for student initiative, and we appreciate the Nest owning not only the opportunities to have fun but also the importance of self-policing to make sure everyone is enjoying themselves in appropriate and sportsmanlike ways. They showed us some fun ideas and were up to try new things, and there was a strong feeling from that multi-class leadership that this section won’t drift away any time soon. We also appreciated how they take the show to the football field and ice rink, and do so in force. The enthusiasm was overflowing, and we could feel it.

Be the Change Award: Zeeland East

What we saw: Two hours of creativity and originality poured into genuine support for the players on the floor. The Valentine’s Day theme was pulled off to a T, and we’re sure all involved on this Senior Night felt the love – including mothers in the crowd supporting both the Chix and opponent Hamilton who received roses during halftime. The involvement of the school’s Ottawa County Sheriff’s deputy in leading a wild cruiser ride was memorable, and the middle school breakdancer unforgettable. We like to dissuade sections from playing with potentially messy confetti or glitter, but the blast of pink and silver into the air over The Coop looked pretty awesome. Coop Crazies say it’s all about the party – and we felt like they were throwing the biggest bash in town.

Why we’re fans: A lot of student sections say, “This is our year. We’re going to change some things.” Coop leaders actually had the courage and put in the work to do it. Underwhelmed by their student section experience the last three years, a group of seniors took over and quickly rewrote the script. The question moving forward is how the next group of leaders will mold the section – but if they can keep the creativity and party atmosphere going, this will be a section to contend with for years to come.

Battle of the Fans champion: Buchanan

What we saw: There’s a line here between not saying enough about this year’s Herd and having already said it all, and we’re straddling it because we’ve had an opportunity to see Buchanan in action a number of times over the years. But as we stated in our original report last week, something did catch our attention – from the front row to the back and across the section through the Junior Herd youngsters who joined in, everyone was all in all the time during our Tuesday night visit, and without special rallying cries needed to keep it up. The Herd, standing together, was naturally cohesive and fun, which comes with really wanting to be there and be a part. The section was loud from start to finish, every possession and every break, and always engaged in the action. But there’s more to it.

Why we’re fans: The first time we visited Buchanan, in 2013, the takeaway was a new student cheering section had changed school culture dramatically over just a few short months. Now that culture is ingrained in every grade from elementary school up. People have asked over the years if this Herd lifestyle is real or just a show – and we’re here to tell you, it’s absolutely authentic.

The Herd experience sends outgoing seniors into tears and brings past leaders back to watch those who have followed them. It has now linked nearly a decade’s worth of students – and continues to set an example any school would be wise to follow.

And Buchanan is glad to be that example. Over the years, Herd leaders have been sought out by other student sections across the state, and even some from other states, asking for advice on how to do something similar at their schools.

Aalfs and his classmates are glad to show anyone the ropes, that those schools too might enjoy some of what he and his friends have grown up with and grown to love about their high school experience.

"It's going to leave me with such great memories that I'm going to remember for the rest of my life," Aalfs said. "Just being around everybody, everybody being so positive. It's crazy."

The Battle of the Fans is sponsored in part by the United Dairy Industry of Michigan.

Check out below our stories and videos behind the finalists. Also, click to see student-produced videos from all sections that entered the contest. (Photos courtesy of Buchanan High School.)

Heritage's Hawks Nest Wants You 'Hype'

February 5, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

SAGINAW – Three years ago, Saginaw Heritage teacher Melissa Fila showed up at Bay City Central, tub of pompons in hand, ready to rev up her students who had made the trip to support the Hawks boys basketball team.

She found three huddled together and two more sitting with their parents. That was it.

How things have changed.

When Central visited Heritage this Jan. 18, the Hawks were filming a congratulations to the eight semifinalists joining them in the second round of this year’s MHSAA “Battle of the Fans VIII.” The stands behind Heritage’s home basket hold roughly 400, and they were packed.

From the humblest of beginnings, Heritage’s student section has grown into a Saginaw Valley League force and the first from that conference to make the BOTF finals. Thanks to a significant boost in “leadership” – much more on that below – the Hawks Nest has become the place to be for many of the school’s 1,500 students.

“This year I’ve seen a total change with people in the student section,” senior Khayli Bracey said. “Everyone is more confident than in past years. You don’t have to be like, ‘Everyone cheer.’ Everyone’s just doing it. Nobody’s necessarily telling people what to say, how to say it.

“Everyone’s just hype.”

We heard that buzzword more than a few times as we met with section leaders Bracey, fellow seniors Shelby Vondette and Josh Frank, juniors Abbey Coenis and Dom Simpson and sophomore Brendan Trier before Friday’s girls basketball game against Midland Dow to find out what’s made the Hawks Nest take flight this school year.

We’ll report on all three of our BOTF finalists visits this month following the format of a typical game night. We kick things off below with some of the Hawks Nest’s suggestions for other student sections hoping to grow, followed by the video from our visit and then more of a story behind Heritage’s rise.

Heritage’s Gameplan

Take some of these tips from the Hawk’s Nest:

Just get started. A gathering of just a few students to watch games can snowball into something more. Don’t be intimidated or afraid. Grab some friends, maybe pick out a theme to dress alike for a game, and see where it goes.

Team up with a teacher. Or an administrator, advisor, coach, etc. Working together with someone who can serve as a champion for your section to the rest of the faculty and administration is invaluable – as is having someone with whom to bounce around ideas.

Care, then don’t care. Care enough to be there, to cheer on your classmates, to make the effort to get more people involved. And then don’t care – what you look like when you’re dancing, how silly the chants might sound. Just join in and enjoy the ride.

Get everyone involved. Heritage’s leaders were adamant that the main difference in this year’s section is the enthusiastic contributions from underclassmen. We’ve learned this from many finalists over the years – the best student sections have plenty of seniors and juniors, but also welcome plenty of sophomores and freshmen.

Be unique. Be creative. It’s getting harder to come up with original cheers. Heritage has taken its share from others, including Iceland’s soccer national team supporters and the NFL’s latest ad campaign. But the Hawks Nest also benefitted from an early-fall leadership “day camp” where students were assigned to come up with new chants – and produced the section’s current favorite: “Ooh! Ah! We’re the Hawks of Saginaw!”

Pregame Prep

Heritage has offered a “Leadership Development” class for decades, and Fila has taught it for most of this one. Her students take part in some awesome projects – like for Veterans Day putting out 10,000 American flags on the school’s lawn to represent Saginaw soldiers, or directing coat and prom dress drives and an “Amazing Race” that most recently netted $15,000 in local donations.

Beginning with the 2016-17 school year, Fila’s Leadership classes also began working on ways to lead more students into the stands.

Heritage had good student sections in the past. The Hawks football team made the playoffs four out of five seasons during the mid-2000s, and students turned out to cheer. Vondette said hockey games have always been crazy – especially as the team has joined the state’s elite over the last few years. The girls basketball team has a long history of success, but she remembers students especially starting to show up during the Hawks’ run to the Class A Semifinals in 2015 when she was in eighth grade. “I feel like everybody got the idea that’s what a student section should be like when they went to a game like that,” Vondette said of that run.

Enter the Leadership class. In addition to all of the good stuff students continued to do in the community, Fila helped them begin to organize a student section – sparking ideas on persuading their classmates to give it a try, guiding code of conduct discussions to make sure students were cheering in a positive manner, and most of all empowering them to create something that would have an impact.

At first, the reborn section was made up of a group of sophomore and junior boys who liked sports. But it quickly grew. So did the Leadership class – last year Fila began teaching an “Intro to Leadership” for underclassmen, and that class allows them to get involved in the student section planning earlier.

There are 200 students taking a Leadership course each semester, and roughly 50 percent of the student body has taken one of them at least once. That means 50 percent at one time have had some hand in helping plan student section activities, putting together presentations on how to do cheers for the rest of the student body, or helping the Hawks Nest apply for Battle of the Fans the last three years (and make "Challenge" videos like the one below).

This fall’s MHSAA Sportsmanship Summit energized section leaders further. But what brought us to Heritage for this BOTF finals may have started during last season’s girls basketball run – the Hawks defeated East Lansing to win the Class A title in front of a sizable group of students at Calvin College’s Van Noord Arena.

“The girls winning the state championship. We took busses. There were so many kids there, and it was just such a good environment,” Simpson recalled.

“There was not one person quiet. Everyone was standing. Everyone was screaming,” Bracey added. “It’s the best I’d ever seen Heritage.”

“The energy was different,” Vondette agreed. “And now it’s just kept going strong.”

Game Time

The Hawks Nest filled with 250 students for our visit Friday for one of the most highly-anticipated girls basketball matchups of this regular season. Home games, as at any school, are the top draw, and Simpson said he’s seen fans going not just to basketball, hockey and football, but also soccer, volleyball and even once to a bowling match.

For this night, it’s important to keep in mind that those 250 attended while the boys basketball team was playing at Midland Dow and hockey team was taking on Birmingham Brother Rice in a high-powered matchup at the Michigan Interscholastic Hockey League Showcase in Trenton. And what’s more, Heritage didn’t have school Friday – giving fans a great reason to stay in for the night.

That wasn’t going to happen with Frank at the video controls.

He spends game nights with a camera in hand, and his skills have taken the Nest’s marketing up a level. Many games are previewed with a short Twitter video announcing the theme or other important information. Then he shoots at every game, building a library of hype videos to keep classmates engaged – and help him put together a strong BOTF application.

“We always said, the intention last year, since we didn’t go on (in BOTF), this year’s we wanted to make it a really jaw-dropping moment,” Frank said. “So right from the beginning of the school year, we were going to start filming and get everything.”

The theme Friday was “EXTREME” and that meant lots of lime green as students received a free T-shirt with student ID. The Nest also included a pep band, two pom teams and the school’s mascot – and plenty of noise, all positive, and despite a fast start by Dow as it went on to hand Heritage its first loss of this season.

“It was a blast. There was just so much energy,” Trier said. “We do it every night. If we’re winning, losing, we still cheer on our team no matter what.

“We’re just getting started. It’s about to take off. We’re going to go even higher. We’re going to shoot for crazy stuff.”

Postgame Analysis

We’re in this together: “I feel like our student section is a more comfortable environment for younger people now. I know a lot more of the underclassmen now through Leadership, and I feel like we’re all one now,” Simpson said. “Our school revolves around Leadership and the student section now. Everyone goes to the games. It’s a culture for us.”

Multi-media marketing works: “When Josh will post videos, and you see everyone in the student section just screaming their heads off, you want to be a part of that,” Vondette said. “That’s what you want to do.”

One memory can make it happen: “At the girls state finals, I was in the front with Shelby, and we were the ones who started stuff, and I just remember (thinking), ‘I want to keep doing this,’” Bracey said. “I would never be the one to want to start cheers – of course I’d cheer along with everyone else, but I was never one that would want to lead a whole group of people. But after that game and seeing everyone getting involved, I was like, ‘I want to keep doing that.’ That was the turning point for me.”

The Nest is the place to be: “Because we make it look so fun,” Coenis said, echoing Trier that the section will just keep getting bigger and better. “The more hype you are, the more hype everyone around you is going to get too. It’s just going to spread.”

Next stop on BOTF: We will visit Buchanan for its boys basketball game Friday against Parchment, and finish the 2019 BOTF tour at North Muskegon for its Feb. 12 boys basketball game against Montague.

The Battle of the Fans is sponsored in part by the United Dairy Industry of Michigan.

PHOTOS: (Top) Saginaw Heritage’s Hawks Nest anticipates a big moment during Friday’s game against Midland Dow. (Middle) Shirts and pompoms made for a green and blue “EXTREME” theme night.

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