by Blake Seitz

Sports Editor

When sitting near the student section at volleyball games, the stands themselves seem to quake from the force of student cheers. Cowgirl volleyball fans are a rowdy bunch who take their fandom seriously, often to the detriment of opposing teams and CHS’s reputation.

The most basic cheer in the volleyball fans’ arsenal occurs when opposing teams go to serve. After a general racket to throw the server off guard, the fans chant “WEAK!” to which the Sauce Boy—generally the senior with the most booming voice—answers “SAUCE!”

This year’s Sauce Boy, senior Sean Chalk, describes the motivation behind these and other cheers.

“We want to distract the opposite team and make them feel [horrible],” Chalk said. “They falter when we get in their heads.”

Chalk’s favorite cheer, and one that is easier on his vocal cords, occurs when an opposing team member makes a basic—often embarrassing—mistake: The student section chants in unison “you let the whole team down.”

“It’s a rarely used cheer, but it’s satisfying because, well, they let the whole team down!” Chalk said.

Senior ‘stud’ Patrick McNamara agrees.

“It’s the easiest to degrade the opposition with,” McNamara said. “If you get the whole stands saying it, you know [the girl] is going to hear it.”

By an overwhelming margin, the volleyball fan base says its role is to tear down its opposition rather than build up its own girls.

“Nothing is too far,” senior (also a ‘stud’) Matt Share said. “Everything is fair game in my opinion.”

School administration seems to disagree.

In the past, administrators—one of whom is present at each volleyball game as per UIL policy—have picked up noisemakers and imposed restrictions on students’ cheers: students can no longer single out an opposing player by name or number in their cheers.

Many students say administration interference has increased since The Dallas Morning News labeled Coppell the Hardest Fans to Play Against, a dubious honor that administrators doubtless wouldn’t want attached to the school.

“Whenever we feel like bringing anything in that makes a lot of noise, we get it taken up,” Chalk said. “We’re not allowed to use names or numbers because the administration doesn’t want [the DMN title].”

Administrators, such as assistant principal Steve Glover, posit that they take up noisemakers because of UIL rules and that they restrict cheering only to respect opposing teams and represent CHS in an acceptable light.

“I’m excited to see student enthusiasm but I also want to see respect towards opposing teams and fans,” Glover said. “There is a line that can be crossed when fans are trying to become a part of the game with their cheering.”

Many fans agree that there needs to be some form of authority to reign them in.

“At the end of the day, the admins are usually right,” Share said. “It’s good to have someone regulate us. In plus, [cheering is] no fun without the possibility of getting in trouble.”

They do not, however, plan to give up the DMN title without a fight.

“It must not have been a very hard decision [for the DMN],” McNamera said. “We’re the most degrading, the most abrasive, and we can make the enemy lose a game because of our cheering. I’m proud of it.”

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