I believe!” screams varsity cheer from their spot on the track. “I believe that we,” reply the Dance Team. Soon enough, the whole crowd is joining in as one voice to show their spirit. “I believe that we will win!” chants Bruin Nation, letting everyone know that they came to win.

“Cheerleaders are generally very energetic and have a lot of school spirit so they can help spread spirit throughout the whole school,” junior Rory Hatch said.

Hatch, along with senior Colleen Wallace and junior Elisa Stephano, is one of the captains of varsity cheer squad. As captains, the three girls try to keep the spirit going by thinking up what cheers to do on the spot.

Most of the time, they try to mix up the cheers by picking ones that they have learned from past squads, Hatch said. It’s a difficult task that takes a lot of time to perfect, but is not without reward; cheering and football games help unite the student body, Hatch said.

“It’s an American tradition that our school definitely takes part in every Friday night and the more wins the closer our school gets,” Stephano said.

However, cheer is not the only group of dedicated athletes bringing the hype under the Friday night lights; the Varsity Dance team lifts crowd spirits at half time.

“I love performing, so I look forward to football games,” junior captain Mackenzie Williams said.

Williams and senior Allison Eichelberger are captains of the team. In order to keep up the enthusiasm during games, they join in with Hype Squad and cheer chants and sing the Bruin Fight Song, Eichelberger said.

The dancers also get spirited themselves by bonding at team dinners and dancing in a circle together before they go on the field.

Overall, Bruin Dance and Cheer try to make every Friday night a great time for Bruin nation.

“Our school comes together as one big family to cheer on our football team,” Stephano said. “Winning is the best feeling ever.