At the halftime of the first home varsity football game of the season on Aug. 22 vs. La Jolla High School, the school’s cheerleading and dance team put on a show for fans and players.
The cheerleaders kicked off halftime with their performance — filled with stunts, tumbles and intricate choreography — while facing both sides of the field. This year, the team grew by 10 cheerleaders, for a total of 35 team members. The music choice, “5 More Hours” by Chris Brown and Deorro, brought the nostalgia of 2015 music to the stands.
“Going into halftime, I was [more] excited than nervous just because I felt confident in our routine, which allowed my teammates and I to have more fun,” Gabby Drapeau (12), a member of the varsity cheer team, said. “Afterwards, it’s fun to watch the videos back and support the dance team too.”
After practicing throughout the summer to prepare for halftime shows, the cheer team felt excited about performing.
“The team has improved in a lot of different ways over the past couple of years,” Drapeau said. “We’ve started focusing on how to build up from the basics, which allowed us to create really solid skills stunt-wise. We’ve also gotten some other cool improvements like new uniforms, improved practice schedules and team building activities.”
Following the cheerleaders’ dynamic routine, the members of the varsity dance team exchanged places with the cheer team. The “TP do work” chant, followed by the stomping feet and lowered heads, indicated that the dance was about to begin.
“Unsurprisingly, the dance team was amazing,” Liv Page (12), a game attendee and fan of both teams, said. “The choreography never fails to impress me, and their timing is always on point.”
The support of the fans was so vibrant that even performers on the field could feel the energy.
“I felt really confident during the performance and I had a lot of fun dancing with all my friends,” Jamie Crowley (12), varsity dance team member, said. “The crowd was super hype and all of the contributions from the [Associated Student Body] (ASB) with the crowd made the experience really encouraging.”
ASB also organized the theme as “Cardinal Out” and other activities during halftime, such as a student versus staff flag football game.
“It was for staff appreciation and we thought it would be a great way to keep the crowd from leaving during halftime,” Jakob Tu (12), ASB Vice President, said.
The flag football game was a fun experience for participants and the crowd.
“Having a halftime show that’s engaging for the crowd helps fans stay after halftime and encourages them to stay for the third period,” Jennifer Ryan, ASB advisor, said. “So ASB tries to plan something that is student-centered, that students are involved in, and that they like watching, so that we can keep our Cardinal Chaos until the end of the game.”
