THE HEAVY rain was not enough to douse the flame of school pride and team spirit as Team Ateneo geared up for another exciting UAAP season in the annual cheer rally held at the Blue Eagle Gym on July 10.
Still in line with the school’s sesquicentennial celebration, this year’s cheer rally bannered the title “Flight 150.”
“Flight—it’s what eagles do, right?” explained College Athletics Office (CAO) Director Benjamin Afuang. “We want this year to signify a soar to new heights.”
Turning the heat up
After hundreds of Ateneo athletes of various teams paraded on the court, the Blue Babble Battalion heated up the damp Blue Eagle Gym with the show-stopping routine of the brass and drum line and the cheer dancers.
The crowd was enlivened and was on its feet as it chanted the immortal “Go Ateneo, One Big Fight!” cheer led by BTV host and former courtside reporter Lia Cruz and Myx VJ Andrei Felix, who returned to their alma mater as the event’s emcees.
With Adidas recently releasing their new line of Ateneo apparel, the CAO handpicked various athletes and alumni including Lady Eagle Sarah Mercado, Lady Spiker Gretchen Ho, Blue Trackster Mike Mendoza, and University Athletics Director Ricky Palou to model for the Adidas fashion show in the event.
“They [Adidas] actually wanted former basketball players [to model] but we wanted to maintain that the cheer rally was for all the teams,” Afuang said.
The CAO, alongside the Ateneo Musicians’ Pool (AMP), launched an album, also dubbed “Flight 150” during the event. The first half of this 12-track CD showcases remakes of the school cheers and songs arranged by the AMP bands. The second half includes the version purely recorded by the Babble, drums and brass brand.
Show of support
Freshman Alyssa Rodriguez said of her first cheer rally in the Ateneo, “I think that it was really a success.”
She also explains how the event was a great introduction for the freshmen on how college athletics really works. “For a while there, I really felt proud to be part of this school.”
For Blue Fencer Daniel Olivan, he was glad that the school still holds events for the school teams like the cheer rally.
“One may feel excited for the cheer rally or maybe feel that it’s just some boring requirement, but the fact that Ateneo still organizes this [cheer rally] for the athletes makes us feel a little more supported.”
