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And the 2015 BOTF Winner is ...
February 20, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Sydney Brooks always has taken pride in her town, even as classmates talked about how there was nothing to do in Dowagiac and how they couldn’t wait to leave when high school was done.
Turns out there’s a lot of fun to be had in her school’s corner of the southwestern Lower Peninsula, and it’s come full circle for the “Attack” – Dowagiac’s student section and this season’s MHSAA Battle of the Fans IV champion.
Dowagiac’s success was accomplished in steps – starting with the formation of the “Chieftain Heart” spirit club three years ago, then the establishment of a “Front Row Crew” last year to get the Attack in Battle of the Fans shape.
This winter, that heart beat stronger than ever, not just in the stands at high school basketball games, but throughout the entire community.
“Before, everybody thought we were just a normal small town. But when everybody comes together – from this whole experience, we’ve learned teamwork,” Brooks said. “The whole town learned to work together, become united. We learned how much it pays off to work together, how much hard work can pay off.
“We worked so hard, and the community worked so hard. We’ve accomplished so much. I’m so proud of Dowagiac.”
The Attack will accept its MHSAA championship banner during the 6 p.m. Class B Boys Basketball Semifinal on March 27 at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center. The other four finalists also will be invited to Breslin to receive rewards for this season’s achievement.
Dowagiac 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 22,673 social media votes were received, with those results then equated against a school’s enrollment.
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.
Dowagiac and then Buchanan received the majority of public social media support, finishing among the top three in all four ways votes were accepted (Facebook likes and shares, Twitter re-tweets and Instagram likes). Some of the more interesting comments made on Second Half stories this week came from alumni of those schools, the oldest a graduate from 50 years ago.
Other numbers to consider from this season's contest: The application videos have been watched nearly 28,000 times, and the MHSAA-produced videos from our tour stops have more than 8,600 views. The stories on the five finalists plus Tuesday’s explanation of how to vote had been viewed 19,078 times as of 8:30 this morning.
This has been one of the coldest winters we can remember, but our Battle of the Fans finalists gave us warm welcomes the last five Friday nights. Here’s what we’ll remember most about each:
Showtime Award: Beaverton
What we saw: The reigning champion hosted the first stop on this season’s finalists tour and reminded us why it won BOTF III with a packed gym and an almost identical group of student leaders who keyed the section’s rise in 2013-14. The Bleacher Creatures put their focus this winter on adding more fun to breaks in play, and had something entertaining lined up for every timeout. Tradition runs deep for a student section that got its start in 1979, and the Creatures supply plenty of fun for the rest of the fans in addition to support for a pair of varsity basketball teams that are a combined 39-2.
Why we’re fans: Starting with the “Beaver Slide,” through the “Parting of the Red Sea” and a dunk into a mini hoop over 6-foot-8 athletic director Ryan Roberts, the Creatures always gave us something to watch. They do their part by amping up the party in the stands to go with the strong basketball being played on the floor. They’ve mastered the ability to bring together an entire student body and continue to set an example for creativity – their ideas no doubt will be picked up by other sections heading into 2015-16 and beyond.
Leave a Legacy Award: Buchanan
What we saw: The Herd made its third straight BOTF Finals and continues to be held in highest regard all over this state – and in some cases, by schools outside Michigan that have learned of Buchanan’s success in rallying students all the way to its elementary buildings. “The Woods” once again was filled for our visit, with students doing what has drawn admiration these last few years – cheering hard for their classmates on the floor and having a blast during breaks. The halftime rendition of “High School Musical” is an all-time highlight of the contest’s four-year history.
Why we’re fans: What more can be said? No section in Michigan has served as a stronger ambassador for how a strong student section can change the culture of not just a school, but an entire community. No other section in Michigan is referred to as often by schools trying to create the same. We see Buchanan’s influences on schools not only from their southwest corner, but all over the state. The Herd may not have won BOTF for a second time in three years, but Buchanan certainly has made its mark, again – and created something we hope continues for years to come.
Guts for Glory Award: St. Johns
What we saw: A new way for this school’s enthusiastic students to support their teams – and positive energy that’s just starting to boil. St. Johns was our largest finalist this season, and represented as such filling a corner of its gym to the top row for the 6 p.m. boys game and with most of the students staying for the start of the girls game played after. Despite a 12-point loss by the boys team, St. Johns fans stayed engaged throughout, with help from the band, cheerleaders and dance team – and showed us a few things we hadn’t seen before, including a nice take on the sport of curling and a full student body domino fall that started at center court.
Why we’re fans: We’ve heard a lot of transformation stories over the last four years, but St. Johns’ student leaders have had one of the tougher goes since forming their Student Athletic Leadership Committee three years ago. Athletic directors can take a lot of steps to get the ball rolling – and in this case, Chris Ervin sent leaders to the last two MHSAA Sportsmanship Summits and provided plenty of support. But the battle for a strong student cheering section is often won in a school’s hallways, where leaders must convince their classmates to buy in. St. Johns’ leaders considered giving up before a breakthrough this winter – and we’re glad they kept up the good fight.
Bring the Noise Award: Yale
What we saw: It’s more what we heard – a collective roar so loud it left a noticeable fuzziness in our ears when the game was done. More than 400 students whipped a quarter of Yale’s gym into a game-long frenzy that no doubt would make playing in front of Kohler’s Krazies (named in honor of boys basketball coach Garnett Kohler) a tougher task than merely trying to stand up to a team that is 15-1 this season. The Krazies added in some nice backflips and a superintendent-led roller coaster during breaks in play – but those and other sideshows were merely to keep the crowd’s attention and not meant to become the main event.
Why we’re fans: The sheer power of this section knocked us back – in a good way. The first fans for a varsity doubleheader began showing at 4:30 p.m. for a 6 p.m. opening tip, and that’s the kind of passion we’ll always cheer on. But the best part was learning how the Krazies, over only a few months this winter, have turned their student body into a tighter-knit community, and then extended that effort to the community of Yale as a whole by incorporating adults into their cheers and raising money to help out a few of the town’s less fortunate.
Battle of the Fans champion: Dowagiac
What we saw: Wow. The vision of hundreds of orange-clad Dowagiac fans bouncing back and forth as the school’s flag was waved is something we won’t forget. The Attack wore shirts printed with “Dowagiac United,” and there’s little that’s more impressive than watching a large group of fans organized and following its leaders en masse – while adding a ton to an already intense game atmosphere. Like BOTF’s champions past, Dowagiac’s section just looks like the fun place to be. The teachers are involved. The band is involved. The elementary schools made videos to join in the fun. The city office made a video showing its support. The Attack is certainly catchy – and we’ve bought in as well.
Why we’re fans: We appreciate how much work has been done to build school spirit over the last three years, and could feel the buzz immediately after walking in the front door. Dowagiac’s student leaders have been pounding on the door, figuratively speaking, and the student section this year is proof they finally pushed through. The sea of orange shirts was not an optical illusion Friday; the gym was filled to its 1,100 fan capacity, with the band and adults across from the students helping to form a blanket of “Dowagiac United” at the doors. And again, that’s not just a slogan; students from the “Front Row Crew” all the way to the top of the stands stayed engaged despite their team getting up by a big margin early, were impressively together on whatever chants the leaders started, and were joined by many of the adults as they enjoyed a booming soundtrack from the band and English teacher Dustin Cornelius, the Attack advisor and also game deejay. Students may have complained a few years ago about having nothing in town to do; now they’ve got plenty of opportunities, along with the rest of their community, to join in something special.
“It was never true that there is nothing to do in Dowagiac. People just didn’t believe there was, and didn’t want to believe there was,” Brooks said. “Now everybody knows there is something to do. We are a great town, and people care a lot about them in this town."
What we found in Dowagiac is what all of our BOTF champions have had in common: All four created atmospheres that anyone entering the gym would want to join.
In fact, that can be said about all five of this season’s BOTF finalists – and once again, 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.
We continue to cheer on these students sections as we learn how much their work has helped other schools transform not just their bleachers, but life in the hallways as well. During each of the last three Battles of the Fans, we’ve heard of how new sections learned from those that have competed before them, either at Sportsmanship Summits or by watching the videos from the first years of the contest. Buchanan and Beaverton can both enjoy assists on Dowagiac’s championship this winter – the Attack certainly gained input from their regional neighbor’s example, and leaders showed last year’s Beaverton video to the entire student body when getting this season’s section of the ground.
But in the end, Dowagiac’s leaders still had to take everything they’d learned not just from others but from their own experiences of trial and error to arrive at this point. This Battle of the Fans championship is one reward – but only a highlight from what an entire community can take pride in every game night.
Battle of the Fans IV is sponsored in part by Milk Means More.
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 Scott Rose.)
![Midland Dow BOTF](/sites/default/files/2022-02/220201_Dow_2H.jpg)
BOTF X: Dow Aims to Give Teams Advantage with Charger Spirit
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 1, 2022
MIDLAND – The 10th MHSAA “Battle of the Fans” – and first after a COVID-induced pause for 2021 – appropriately started Friday with a never-seen-before experience.
Midland Dow’s student section mostly makes its presence known at “Herb’s House” – the unofficial name of the Chargers’ gymnasium. But Dow hit the road, traveling four miles southeast to rival Midland High for the first of this year’s three finalists visits – the first time a section has ever hosted the MHSAA staff and Student Advisory Council at an away game.
Challenge? Chargers accepted it.
“We want to show up and be the best student section at their school,” Dow senior Daniel Watkins said. “That’s always the best thing ever.
“We bring the same energy. If nothing else, (the road game) almost feeds it more. Not only is it against our rival, but we’re at their place.”
This year’s BOTF X finalists tour also will include visits to Buchanan and Traverse City West.
Below is our highlight reel and 10 “X Factors” from our first stop with Dow’s student section.
1. Battle Plan
As noted, Dow’s section traveled to rival Midland High, which packed its own student cheering section to match. Dow students dressed in scrubs and lab coats for a “Doctors & Nurses” theme and collected money during halftime to buy snacks for the local hospital emergency room staff.
2. This is the Year of Dow
While a Dow student section has existed for years, a number of factors lined up well for this to be the section’s first applying for Battle of the Fans – and making the championship round. A focused group of leaders was eager to get to work after spectator limits kept crowds small during 2020-21.
3. Follow the Leaders
Every year four seniors – two girls and two boys – take over leadership. Those four leaders then select the next year’s leaders, to be announced at an assembly at the end of the school year. This year’s are Watkins, Kourtney Fischer, Abby Rey and Nolan Sanders. “We know the qualities a section leader needs to have, and we’re picking someone we know can handle the job and go the extra mile,” Rey said. “We make sure they’re driven, because it’s not an easy job – sometimes you just want to go to the game, but you have a bigger responsibility. And obviously someone who can communicate, especially with administrators.”
4. Believe in the Spirit Stick
At least since 2014 – when it started appearing in yearbook photos – a Spirit Stick has been the instrument used by leaders to direct the section. The stick is green – and recently repainted – and also recently busted after one end broke off during that hockey game. But section leaders claim it’s still got plenty of magic – when a ball falls out of bounds their way, they make sure the pompom end of the stick sprinkles a little Charger spirit on it before putting it back in play. “It’s powerful, really,” Watkins said. “It changes games.”
5. Strength in Numbers
With an enrollment of nearly 1,300 students, getting a couple hundred to big games is a goal. Section leaders knew there was potential when the section showed in force for the football season opener at University of Michigan – which kicked off at noon on the first Friday of the school year. Despite being on the road this past Friday, nearly 150 students showed for the boys basketball game against the Chemics.
6. Get Social
Without argument, the biggest driver of Dow’s student section strength this year has been the addition of dedicated social media channels. Putting out announcements and themes on Instagram spreads the word, as those posts become part of students’ stories and get passed along quickly. Senior Kimberly Douglas puts together video and the section started a TikTok as well.
7. Making the Difference
Dow’s goal is to affect the game’s outcome – it’s that simple. All four leaders are athletes and know the confidence boost the section can provide. “We just want to be the turning point,” said Sanders, who plays hockey, baseball and runs track. “To allow our sports teams to get the closest to a win as possible … like a sixth man on the court, to help get those extra points. It’s important to understand that we’re not on the court, but we can have a say (in the result).”
8. They’re Everywhere
Dow is part of the Saginaw Valley League, which stretches from Lapeer to Mount Pleasant and makes rallying the section for frequent two-hour road trips difficult. So the section focuses on home events – and not just football and basketball. Watkins would rush from football practice to lead the section during volleyball matches, and the section supported its boys soccer team in the fall and is big at hockey.
9. Coming Attractions
The section drives attendance by taking sporting events up a level in terms of fan participation. That has included some significant setup for football games; before the game against Midland this fall, Fischer and Rey built enough shakers – two solo cups taped together with corn inside – to fill six garbage bags. “Toga” and “Grandma & Grandpa” have been among popular themes, and they expect a big turnout for tonight’s boys basketball game “Teddy Bear Toss” with stuffed animals to be donated to a children’s hospital.
10. Keep it Classy
Behavior can go south during a rivalry game. Friday’s was a perfect example of how it doesn’t have to do so. While there was plenty of responding to each other’s cheers, it was basically some friendly back and forth and there wasn’t a hint of negativity coming from either side. For Dow’s leaders, cheering is more about giving their teams confidence – they don’t like booing, they don’t do the “who cares” during pregame introductions and they don’t tear opponents down. “That’s the way we do things,” Rey said. “It’s always positive. (Our students) respect that; they know that. They should be cheering out there for our team, and nothing else.”
The Battle of the Fans X finalists tour will resume Friday at Buchanan and conclude Feb. 8 at Traverse City West, with the champion announced Feb. 18.
PHOTOS (Top) Senior Daniel Watkins leads Dow’s cheering section with the Spirit Stick during Friday’s boys basketball game at Midland. (Middle) Students cheer on their classmates during a "Doctors & Nurses" theme night. (Below) Senior Abby Rey, front in purple, helps lead the section after scoring a team-high 16 points in the girls basketball team’s win over the Chemics to begin the evening. (Photos by Kaylee Emrick/Midland Dow Yearbook staff.)