From cheering to dressing up, Augustana’s wrestling team has supported women’s volleyball over the past three years and vice versa.
On Oct. 7, the wrestlers went to the game in an array of pink clothing, and some of the wrestlers even had on women’s clothing. The pink was worn for breast cancer awareness.
Volleyball’s season is during the fall. Wrestling’s season is during the winter. So, time is allotted for both teams to show their support without being in season at the same time.
This all started three years ago when the wrestling team came up with the idea to attend a women’s volleyball game, in order to show some support. Ever since, wrestling has gone to the volleyball games.
When the wrestlers go to the games, they dress up in some sort of theme. Some examples of themes include: singlets, spandex, and costumes. Some of the volleyball players have also given the boys ideas. The boys are there to have a good time, and it helps, according to head coach Kelly Bethke.
“The wrestlers provide a great atmosphere for the players,” said Bethke. “Overall, they keep their cheers positive, which I appreciate. The volleyball players and myself appreciate the support from the wrestling team.”
Something you might notice if you attend a game is that the wrestlers try to be as quiet as they can when Augie is serving, so as not to distract the sever. They just wave their hands. But when the opponent is serving, they become as loud as they can in order to get in the servers head.
When they aren’t distracting the server, they might be huddling or playing music. The wrestlers bring their own little boom box and play music during timeouts. They also do their own group huddle, in which one of the guys gives their own inspirational speech coming from “Remember the Titans” movie.
Some of their cheers include saying “Augie, Augie, Augie” and clapping and also saying “She plays football.”
The wrestlers go to all of the home games, and the volleyball team goes to the home wrestling matches, as well.
“Since the wrestlers are such loyal fans and supporters of our team, we make it a team goal to go to the wrestling matches while they are in season,” said junior Martha Murray. “I think something that Augustana students do so well is that the athletic community is sure to go out and support each other because we know how hard we all work for what we want.”
Support is very important in the athletic community, which was the wrestlers’ goal.
“We want to spread the idea of sports teams supporting one another,” said junior wrestler Isaiah Schaub.
Both teams will continue to support each other for the following years and keep the tradition going.