And the 2014 BOTF winner is ...

February 21, 2014

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Beaverton’s “Bleacher Creatures” student section has filled stands for 35 years.

But when leaders decided this fall to get more organized, and then met this for the first-ever Spirit Club meeting, they had one goal in mind:

Win Battle of the Fans III.

After falling just short of making last season’s five finalists, the Creatures simply wanted a chance to show what they’ve been doing since their parents were in high school.

They got their chance Friday during the MHSAA’s visit for a boys basketball game against Houghton Lake – and showed more than enough to capture the title as the state’s top high school cheering section.

“It’s such an honor to be involved with some of the other schools this year. And knowing how far we came, it’s just so awesome. Our dream came true,” said Beaverton junior Drew Porter, the spirit club’s president. “When we got over 1,000 votes, that’s almost our whole town population, and that was just like, ‘Oh my God.’ It was a feeling that you only feel when you’re in a great situation, and we’ve got a great community here. They support us, and we support the basketball team.”

The Creatures will accept their MHSAA championship banner during the 6 p.m. Class B Boys Basketball Semifinal on March 21 at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center.

Today is a snow day at Beaverton, which will only delay what should turn into a community celebration when the 1,100-resident town hosts rival Gladwin for a basketball game tonight.

Beaverton 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 12,938 social media votes were received, with those results then equated against a school’s enrollment.

From the Advisory Council side, this clearly was the closest Battle of the Fans to date. Four finalists received first-place votes, and the champion wasn’t decided until the final two votes were tallied. The 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.

Beaverton and then Buchanan easily received the majority of public social media votes, with Facebook those fans’ main mode of support. Judging by comments to stories on Second Half, some of those votes came from as far away as the Pacific coastline and Gulf of Mexico.

Some numbers to consider from this season's contest: The application videos have been watched nearly 12,500 times, and the MHSAA-produced videos from our tour stops have 6,500 views. The stories on the five finalists plus Tuesday’s explanation of how to vote had been viewed 19,865 times as of 8:30 this morning.

Through snow storms and anything else the polar vortex threw our way, we enjoyed memorable trips this winter. Here’s some of what we’ll remember most about each finalist:

This is Our House Award: Bridgman

What we saw: The Bees boys basketball team has won 80 percent of its home games over the last 19 seasons. Credit popular coach Mike Miller with much of that, but he’d surely also point to his “Orange Crush” student section. Bridgman, a Class C school, has a gym that should be the envy of many a Class A program. Bigger schools also would love to be cheered on by a section like the Crush, as fans stacked a corner of the stands three levels into the rafters while rooting their team to another win.

Why we’re fans: The band and cheerleaders – and of course the mascot Buzz – all take significant roles in the “Hive” party as well, and the “TNT” box to set off the section after every 3-pointer was an excellent addition this season. And there’s a reason the Bees are so strong at home – their fans stay engaged in the game action throughout. Cheering on teams is the most important responsibility of a student section, and the Crush has a measured impact.

Model Student Section Award: Buchanan

What we saw: What did “The Herd” do after winning the Battle of the Fans in 2013? It became an organized group engaging roughly 10 percent of the school as part of its planning committee, and became an often-requested source of support at community functions. The Bucks remain an incredible example of bringing together an entire school and keeping fans active from tip-off to the final buzzer, as we saw again during our return visit.

Why we’re fans: More of the above – the Bucks are organized, positive and have quickly created a camaraderie that has become not just the talk of the town, but among social media followers from afar as well. The excitement has caught on among the district’s middle school students – they’ve created a mini Herd – and that means we’re planning on visiting Buchanan again in 2015. Other sections have watched the Bucks and learned – and should continue to do so.

Comeback in a Year Award: Frankfort

What we saw: Think you can’t quickly change a culture of negative cheering at your school? See Frankfort, which took down two decades of built-up bad reputation and threw it out of “The Cage” this winter. Student leaders knew negativity spewed in the past didn’t feel right, and they attacked the problem head on. We love a great story, and this might be our favorite of BOTF III. And if leaders are correct, the good times are spreading throughout Frankfort’s corner of the Lower Peninsula – and we’re excited to see the results in 2015.

Why we’re fans: Outside of the obvious – we are huge proponents of sportsmanship – more than 80 percent of this Class D school’s student body regularly shows for home games. And its “Icy Hot” theme – students wore winter clothes during the first half and summer gear during the second – arguably was the most creative theme we saw this season. Frankfort’s application video mentioned the Panthers enjoy championships before panning to a hallway full of them. A Battle of the Fans championship banner could be on the way soon.

Voice of the People Award: Traverse City West

What we saw: West student senate governor Brady Severt, among other witticisms, offered a thought that was essentially, “It’s one thing to get 100 students to do something. It’s another to get 400 moving the same way.” How do the “Bleacher Creatures” do so? The section’s efforts are rooted in the school’s senate, a “melting pot” of 30 students representing social groups throughout the student body. Up front is the “Bucket Brigade,” section leaders who inherit the role of running the show during games while dressed in paint suits and banging on plastic buckets – and we wish we’d been at a football game so we could’ve seen the buckets in action (no noise makers in the gym!).

Why we’re fans: Big numbers are impressive, but as Severt noted, tough to direct at times. West does it, and be sure we noted students joining the section at the end of the basketball game after coming from the jazz concert or play also going on that night. And talk about originality ... the Creatures were so original, they made up a cheer on the spot during our visit. Big-time effort from a sizable group.

Battle of the Fans champion: Beaverton

What we saw: These Bleacher Creatures are more than just a student section. They encompass multiple generations of a proud small town, and can grow to include support from rival schools throughout the Jack Pine Conference. Parents of current-day Creatures were part of the section three decades ago, and we listened as members of the 1984 boys basketball team gave shout-outs to the support that lives on during the team’s induction Friday into the school’s Hall of Fame.

Why we're fans: Friday’s game was never close after the first few minutes, but Beaverton’s Creatures cheered on whoever was on the floor until the very end. We heard stories of how fans from Sanford Meridian, Gladwin and other league schools joined the section during Beaverton’s run to the boys basketball Quarterfinals last season, so we weren’t surprised to see two Creature ambassadors walk up to Houghton Lake’s section and invite those students to join in to the “Macarena.” Porter personally heard from friends in Gladwin and Clare who cast their online votes for their Jack Pine mates. The Creatures personify togetherness and take it to a level far larger than their school and town.

Porter had a brief opportunity during the MHSAA visit to watch his section from across the gym and couldn't help but be proud. A special moment took place after the game as well; usually after big wins, the student section takes to the floor to congratulate the team. This time, players stormed the stands for what likely was the first time in the Creatures' long history.

"How much dedication everyone else has, everybody is in it together," Porter said. "Nobody feels left out. That was our main goal this year, to get everybody involved."

Next for our finalists is the big screen – clips from all five MHSAA tour stops will be shown on the main scoreboard during the Girls and Boys Basketball Finals in March at the Breslin Center. And, as mentioned above, Beaverton will take center court on March 21 to be recognized for its championship effort.

Nearly 50 MHSAA member schools have applied for Battle of the Fans during its first three years, and the competitiveness of this season’s contest can’t be stated enough. We’ve watched BOTF literally transform cheering at schools and now into leagues all over the state, and this year’s group of finalists certainly will continue to have an impact in showing the fun that can be had while keeping to good sportsmanship and positive support of the local team.

Beaverton, the biggest stage is yours. Your community and your league will surely take pride in this championship – and 35 years of Bleacher Creatures have plenty to celebrate.

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

Click to check out our stories and videos behind the finalists. Also, click to see student-produced videos from all sections that entered the contest. (Photo courtesy of Bob Frei.)

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.)

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