Under the lights, on a fall night, the Bear Pack cheers in the stands, while everyone in the student section is dressed a certain way. Students of all grades get together at Hurley Field for the home games, dressed for the theme that was posted earlier that day to show support for our team.
Showing support isn’t the only reason we have themes, though. Spencer Smith, a senior at BHS, said, “It gets people really excited to dress up.” The student section is always cheering for the team and bringing the energy, which shows their excitement.
Having a theme also unites people. Senior, Katelin Sills, said, “It really brings everyone together, and it gives people stuff to talk about. Everyone is like, ‘What is the theme going to be tonight? What are we doing? What are we planning?’ It gives us an outfit and a sense of unity.” The theme gives us an outfit, but also much more, freshman Serena Warns stated, “Having a theme brings people together because everyone feels included.” Warns also said, “As a freshman, the theme makes me feel more included, especially at the beginning of the year when everything is so new.” This shows that a theme is important in getting all the grades together and unified.
Themes range from solid colors to elaborate combinations, such as “swinter”, which is a mix of summer and winter. Most of the time, themes are randomly chosen, but there are some traditions. The first home football game is always whiteout, the homecoming game is always class colors, and a home football game in October is usually pinkout for cancer awareness. Smith said that his favorite theme is beach theme, Sills said hers is blackout when we play Royal Oak, and Warns said hers is jerseys.
Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to themes and what they do to prepare for them. When asked if he does anything to prepare for themes, Spencer shared, “Sometimes I go shopping, like for neon. I got a construction vest from Home Depot.” Themes give people something to anticipate and something to get ready for. “Going out and buying things just adds to the experience, especially the high school experience, because this is so unique to high school,” said Sills.
Themes also add to the memories. At most games, people take pictures with their friends while they are all matching. It is much easier to remember the moments when you look back at pictures and see what you were wearing. Sills stated, “When we take pictures, it makes it so much more exciting. I can remember when events happen, I’m like ‘Oh my god, that was the pink out game, or that was the neon game.’ Seeing everyone together in the pictures matching is definitely a highlight for me.” Sills explains that as exciting as games are, everyone matching and showing their school spirit makes it that much more memorable.
Excitement, unity, outfits, and memories are only some of the things that a theme brings to home games at Berkley. Showing support for the team and having school spirit is always important, and having a theme for the student section is just one of the ways we can do that. Smith, Sills, and Warns are only three of the students at BHS who go to games and dress for themes, and there are so many more students who love it just like they do.
