Jessica Wright
Editor-in-chief
Many students and faculty alike have seen the flyers posted around campus signaling another spirit night for various games, whether it football, volleyball, basketball, etc. Many fans who have observed these advertised themes have often found themselves covered in outlandish paraphernalia, cheering on games next to countless other students doing the exact same thing.
Where do these themes originate? Who are the brains behind these adverts?
Rachel Rogers, senior woman administrator for athletics, said she works alongside students and coaches to make the spirit themes a reality for athletic teams.
“SAAC members and student athletes will tell me [an idea] and we just kind of run with it,” said Rogers. “My background was for marketing promotions, so I just pick things I’ve seen that have been successful in the past.”
Past game themes include Super Hero night, Breast Cancer Awareness night (pink-out games), students dressed up as hunters and in ‘80’s attire, blue-out, white-out, and black-out games etc.
Senior Tanequa Whitman, who is currently working on her master’s at Shorter, said the spirit themes are beneficial for the players on the court. Athletes thrive on the fans’ excitement, especially when there are large crowds that originate from the publicized spirit nights, according to Whitman.
“We feed off of the crowd’s energy, and sometimes the crowd will also get in the heads of the other team,” said Whitman. “Some of the themes like a black out, pink out, or even a blue out gets our team pumped for the team we are playing, especially if it’s someone like Lee or another team that is really good.”
Senior communication major Kristin Nash, who is in her last season as guard for the women’s basketball team, said having a large crowd at games gives her team “that extra confidence we need.”
Nash stated that spirit nights would bring more fans to their games, but women’s basketball has only had pink-out games for Breast Cancer Awareness. She said she would like to see their team have more spirit nights this year as well as in the future to bring a bigger crowd to their games, rather than having the crowd there just for the men’s team.
“I think it would be great if we had more spirit nights because it’s always great to play in front of a large crowd,” said Nash.
However, these spirit nights are often for more than solely gaining the spirit of the students, but also for gathering involvement of the community and for various fundraising opportunities. The Cave Spring Jumpers, a youth step team, performed one year at the half-time of a basketball game, while another night featured the Open Door Home, an orphanage in Rome.
Shorter also brings in a lot of support for Breast Cancer Awareness on the pink-out nights for various teams.
To spread the word regarding these themes and fundraisers, Rogers said the athletic department incorporates a lot of social media, such as events on the Shorter Athletic Facebook page. They also post flyers across campus and use word of mouth to get students involved.
“It’s just about thinking outside the box to engage people who might not normally come to games or just to increase fan participation,” said Rogers.
