| The Telegraph Article (cont.) |
| "It's just a whole lot of fun. I wish everybody would get into it," Blevins said. "We have great times cooking out, hanging out, and cheering on our team." Like many parents, Blevins' mother encourages the Crazies as a way to keep Neil and his friends out of trouble and at the basketball games all winter. Last year, she even helped paint a letter on each of six bare chests to spell out "M-I-N-E-R-S" to cheer on the girls team at a Taylorville game [correction : it was "G-H-S-!"]. In return, the girls basketball team joins the Crazies when they're free. The SpongeBob SquarePants cheer, added by Blevins from a cartoon character song, is a favorite of senior Gina Libbra, nicknamed Seven for her number on the girls team [correction: I believe this is her softball number because her basketball number is 35]. Backed by T-bone or Fatts or Rossie, she likes to lead the Squarepants ditty in the third quarter during a full time out. "All these guys are in my class. I've grown up watching them," said Libbra, who loves basketball as much as they do. "You can really root for your team with the Crazies." It begins with the introductions. The Crazies always bow their heads and refuse to acknowledge the other team's players as their names are called. At home, they pull out newspapers and pretend to read until their team hits the spotlight. If the actions lapses into too many passes by the opponents, senior Dan Willhoit, this year's Mad Miner leader, chimes in with a "BOOOORRRRRING" cheer or launches a louder "Whoo-WA-hooo," that comes out like an undulating sound wave. The Crazies pick up the lead and aim the wave onto the court where it can send any passing game into a dizzying lapse. If a bad pass leads to a quick turnover, the string of Crazies leaps off the bench in one long, howling cheer of success. If the other team fouls, the Crazies boost their own free-throw chances by creating a sea of waving fingers on extended arms and whoooooooshing with the ball as it hits the net. In between, the group adds whooping feedback to the regular cheers or waves the eye chart after a controversial call. By the fourth quarter, shirttails begin flapping in the excitement, shouting voices turn gruff and every ear is filled to overflowing with the screaming pain of that last chance shot. Like the players, the Crazies know the game and are quick to react to every nuance and whistle. Even the freshmen like Logan Knoche of Dorchester glance nervously up the wall at the scoreboard at each change in the time or the points. "We're just having fun and doing what we can get by with to boost the team," said senior Aaron Cooper, another football veteran. The Crazies traded in total independence this year for an official school sanction that gives them a break on shirts and supplies [uhhh doubtful here]. They talked history teacher Mike Baima into sponsoring the group because he's done it before and has stories to tell. The final touch was the Web site, http://www.geocities.com/coalmine_crazies/index.html. Willhoit, who usually dresses as a miner and takes the lead with the hard hat and megaphone, agreed that it's all about having a good time backing the team. "We may not be real creative bunch, but we have lots of fun," he said. And the players like the enthusiasm. "They do get us pumped up," said one player waiting for the team bus to head home after a close win against Marquette Catholic High School in Alton. "It's great to have such a large part of our class here. It's really encouraging," said senior Dane Gray. Sometimes, when he's concentrating on the game, he tries to block out everything but the game, but "having the Crazies in our corner is definitely encouraging," he said, heading for the bus. "They're definitely an advantage." Courtesy of: The Alton Telegraph printed 1-26-03. article by Mary Brase |