With the football game against Mc-who coming up, everyone at Prep was looking towards the Prep Rally Crew to get them pumped. Cheers went on during the lunches, and sirens could be heard during classes, all getting the students and teachers ready for what was about to come. However, no one was prepared for the rally that the Prep Rally Crew had planned.
The rally started out as usual. There was a strong sense of excitement in the air as students walked in and tried to find a seat as far up as possible. The music was loud, and the lights were flashing on the massive crowd of students and teachers. The loud music was eventually silenced by senior class president, Will Lewis, who went up on stage and officially started off the rally with a prayer, followed by, “Let’s eat.”
After Will left the stage, a video started to play on the massive projector screen. It was the “Where is the Rambler?” video. However, this video was like none other before. It started off with Peter Bloomstine on a boat, with an excellent sound track in the background, of course. Peter spotted Colin Williams on shore, and sailed over to him. Colin and Peter were then shown running up a flight of stairs towards a shoot-off between Dan Chludzinski and a cardboard cut-out of John Wayne. Dan was startled by Peter and Colin, and he accidentally shot Colin. There was sad music playing in the background as a bloody Colin whispered, “I’m so cold. Peter come closer. We gotta get to this rally, for Harambe.” A quick image of Harambe was flashed up on the screen, and everyone in the crowd started to laugh.
Then the video got serious as more and more Rally Crew members were found. Soon, only one member was left to be found: the Rambler. Someone in the group came up with the idea of checking the animal shelter, so the crew went there first. A nice woman told them that the Rambler was there, but he had been taken to the mall, apparently by Mc-who students. The crew was then seen heading through the mall parking lot in roller blades and on scooters, with intense music playing in the background. Everyone in the crowd expected the Rally Crew members to leave their wheels at the door; however, they went straight into the mall still wearing their blades and riding their scooters. The crowd went nuts once again. Eventually the Rambler was discovered at the Petting Zoo, and the whole crew headed back to Prep.
Finally, after the video ended, the entire Rally Crew busted through the back doors of the auditorium and jumped up on stage. The entire crowd was screaming and cheering with excitement. The crew lead the usual cheers, and everyone was getting psyched for the game, but then, something unexpected and even more exciting happened…the curtains opened up revealing a massive group of Cathedral Prep alumni, led by Judge Trucilla. Judge Trucilla then proceeded to lead even more chants and cheers. The crowd could barely contain their level of excitement. After the cheers stopped, Judge Trucilla and the rest of the Prep Alumni presented the Senior Rally Crew with their own personal Prep Rally Crew T-shirts.
The alumni then left the stage, and the rally proceeded with lookalikes and interviews, both of which were very exciting and humorous. Next, three Rally Crew members got up on stage and sat at a table. There was a banner on the front of the table labeled “CPSN,” or Cathedral Prep Sports Network. The three Rally Crew members then called up individual athletes, including Tony Squeglia, Prep’s water polo captain; Jerry Roberts, Prep’s football captain; and Damien Keister, “wildcard.” Some jokes were exchanged between the athletes and the interviewers, but in the end the athletes were serious about taking down Mc-who in the game later that day.
The last person the be called up on stage to be interviewed was by far the perfect wrap-up to the already exhilarating rally. It was the new principal, Mr. Jim Smith. Mr. Smith was then asked, “What level violation would something like this be?” as the projector turned on again. A video was shown of Mr. Smith fighting some other player during a baseball game, and the crowd of students were on their feet cheering once again. Mr. Smith had no comment, but then, the Rally Crew members started to push him. Everyone thought that the pushing was real, until Mr. Smith’s shirt was torn off, revealing a painted chest. The noise in the crowd became so loud that hearing anything else would be impossible. Mr. Smith then dismissed the students, and everyone was more than ready to cheer loudly for the Prep football game.
According to Rally Crew member David Tullio, more than 20 hours of planning and filming went into the process of making the rally, and boy was it worth it. Students from every grade level at Prep seemed to have similar thoughts. When asked what he thought of the rally, senior Brian Buseck replied, “The rally was one to remember. In the past rallies have been fun but had some lackluster parts. This rally, from the intro video to Mr.Smith’s insane ending cameo, aimed to please. It kept me entertained the whole time, was legitimately funny, and most importantly got me hyped for the game.”
Prep junior Nick Wetzel said, “I liked that the video was long and entertaining through the whole thing. There were a lot of surprises throughout the rally and some things we haven’t done in past years. I did not like how loud the audio was during the video though because it made it hard to understand what they were saying. Other than that it was a great rally!”
Sophomore Matt Whaley said, “I did like the rally. [W]hat I liked most about the rally was that the video was very good, and I liked the alumni leading some chants.”
As freshman, there is a certain level of expectation set for Prep rallies. When asked if the rally was all that he expected it to be, freshman Michael Rahner replied, “Yes, my first rally as a Cathedral Prep Rambler was more than I expected it to be. The effort put into the rally by the rally crew, the alumni, and our new principal Jim Smith, and everyone who helped was very evident. I had heard about how awesome the rallies were from my brothers, but to be there in person was amazing.”
In the end, I personally think that the rally that occurred on Friday, September 9th, was by far the best that I have ever seen. After seeing how excited everyone got for the game, and the massive section that formed at both the tailgate and the game, there is no doubt in my mind that everyone else thought similarly as well. To make the day even better, the Ramblers went on to beat that other team by more than two touchdowns. After Friday, I am even more proud to call myself a Rambler.
Rally Video: https://youtu.be/lKVKfq1SJdk
Rally Interviews: https://youtu.be/iB6kcJ3S2c4