Each Friday night, students, parents, coaches, and players fill the stadium for Varsity Friday Night lights. Amongst this crowd lies the passionate Hayfield Hype squad. With cameras flashing, orange smoke blaring through the wind, and heavy Hawk spirit smeared across the home team bleachers, our Hype Squad slowly builds up their chants.

In the mind of varsity kicker, Sophomore Lorenzo Herrera, pre-game nerves are dismissed by the rush of adrenaline fueled by the cheers of the hype squad.

“It definitely impacts the way I play because it [the Hype Squad] is like our guide and our support, to know we have people who have our back,” Herrera said.

But is this still true? Is our 2022-23 hype squad just as supportive as it used to be? Watching our team take losses hard, and celebrate wins joyfully, it makes us wonder if our support makes a difference in the way our players fight through the game.

“Last year, I would say they were more supportive towards us,” Herrera said.

When asked whether this question was agreeable, star senior Nicholas Griffin had a lot to say.

“Maybe it feels a little bit different. I think last year it was a little more hype, but you know, I think we still have a pretty good hype squad this year”, Griffin said. “Maybe people just don’t have as much confidence as the seniors last year”.

Is the Hype Squad really losing its hype, or just losing confidence?

“I think last year we were just a little bit more hype than this year,” junior Luciana Ortiz-Gareca said.

So there you have it, fans and players both openly agree on the differences of the 2021-22 hype squad and the 2022-23 squad. But the question is, why? What made the Hype squad unable to live up to its hype? 

“If you are hype, you’re allowed to go up there [the front row], but you might get rejected,” sophomore Lucy Freeland said

Others feel the student section is very inclusive.

“I think they (the hype squad) is very inclusive, everyone is allowed in, and everyone cheers,” sophomore Cooper Belt said.

After our 2023 senior’s final ride as football players and students, we are left with the memories of the community we create every Friday night. The lights blaring, silly themes filling the stands, and most importantly, the love and pride we bleed, and we bleed orange.