Every Friday night the Nation gears up and brings all their school spirit into the stands. They have themes, posters and cutouts of their favorite football player. The Nation comes prepared to cheer on their team.
The Nation plays a huge role bringing the school spirit up every Friday night. The spirit and cheering they bring to the field reflects what the players will feel playing on the field.
“They are behind us when we need it and always come out in good numbers for our games,” senior Anthony Debell said.
One of Nation’s leaders, senior Jake Gatziolis, rallies everyone to come out to the football games every week and is one of the members who is in charge of T-shirt sales and social media.
“When the team is doing good, we are louder and when we are more into the game the team feeds off of the intensity,” Gatziolis said.
In the past couple weeks the team lost three games in a row and so the Nation has suffered alongside them.
“I feel like every game that Nation reduces down, at the games there are only people who care about the game,” senior Alfonso Lavin said.
The team is 3-3,according to coach Larry Calhoun they haven’t lived up to their own expectations but at the same time all the goals they set are still attainable.
From a leader’s perspective the Nation is not doing their best.
“On most occasions they are not loud enough. They need to pay attention during the game and know when to be loud and crazy and when to be quiet,” Gatziolis said.
From a players perspective the view point of the Nation is different.
“We started to make our own energy through the sideline and our play on the field because we knew they weren’t behind us [during] the Hersey game,” Debell said.
Debell’s viewpoint on the Nation has changed since the games against Conant, Palatine and Hersey.
“During the Hersey game a majority left at half time and didn’t stick around for our comeback,” Debell said.
During the Palatine and Conant games as soon as the team went down in the game the nation was not as loud or in the game as much according to Debell.
While the game is still in the hands of the players, the energy comes from the fans.
“It’s still our game to play but when they are loud it definetly gives us a little more energy,” Debell said.
Many feel that the Nations has room for improvement.
“It should be run less of a business more of a social group. People go to the games to hangout and watch a good game,” Lavin said. If they don’t cheer one play they will cheer the next, it doesn’t have to be every play.”
By: Kaylinn Esparza