Behind The Scenes Of The Bear Den

Hannah Wentzel, Staff Writer|October 20, 2016

BASH Seniors show their school spirit for the Boyertown Football team at Pottsgrove High School stadium. Seniors Garrison DiSieno and Ryan Meier, pictured on the far right, are the Bear Den organizers.

School spirit at football games seems to be at an all-time high, thanks to a few dedicated seniors.

The school’s student section, The Bear Den, is being run this year by Ryan Meier and Garrison Desieno, who are in charge of the chants and themes during the games, and also work a Twitter account to spread the word about how to show spirit at games.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Meier said. “It’s fun to get loud and support my friends on the field.”

Meier’s spirit is contagious. He himself has seen a difference. This year, the Bear Den has been packed.

“This year, yeah; a lot more people come to the games and dress the part,” he said.

Even the underclassmen are becoming more involved, versus past years when upperclassmen were doing all of the work at the games.

“I think that most people cheer at the games,” Senior Tiffany Diachynsky said. “Its pretty loud and everyone seems involved.”

Creating themes is one thing that has improved participation. Some of the themes that the Bear Den has taken upon themselves already have been a blackout, pink out, camo-out, redout, ‘merica, and Hawaiian.

“I take other people’s suggestions into account. A couple of times I thought of it myself” Meier said.

A more spirited Bear Den has had a great affect on the athletes. Junior Jerry Kapp, the quarterback for the football team, thinks that the student section is one of the prime reasons he excels on the field.

“Having that kind of crowd cheer gives an athlete the type of motivation to do great things,” he said, “you go out and see a large Bear Den and it gets me so pumped up. It is such a great feeling that I can’t explain.”

Meier and Desieno play winter basketball for the school, so the torch of the Bear Den will be passed, and we will have to see if the roar of school spirit stays at its peak.