Rockingham County Public Schools

RCPS Home | Visit the Highlights Archive

Blazer Blue and Gobbler Green Unite on the Court and in the Stands

At first glance when entering the Siegel Center in Richmond, fans from other parts of the state must have wondered what blue-and-green team brought such an impressive contingent of support to the D4 State AA basketball finals. The stands were dominated by the two bright colors all thrown together side by side like crayons in a Crayola 64 box. Upon further inspection, however, how impressive it was that these blues and greens actually represented two groups of fans — two different schools, no less - even rivals, it could be argued — who had joined forces in short time to support each other in their efforts to win state championships for their schools.

This uncommon bond grew out of a spontaneous display of sportsmanship during the Wednesday afternoon session at the State Tournament. The Spotswood High School girls basketball team had just won its semifinal game over York and the Broadway High School boys were next up to take the floor for their semifinal matchup with Courtland. What neither RCPS team knew at this point was that the Broadway cheerleaders were stalled in traffic somewhere en route to the game.

In the midst of their on-court celebration, the SHS girls team and SHS cheerleaders had the presence of mind to notice that there were no cheerleaders in green to welcome the Broadway boys onto the floor. So the blue-clad girls rushed to create two lines through which the Gobblers sprinted onto the floor and into their pre-game warmup drills with the Blazers cheering enthusiastically — the crowd now exploding, both in support of the Broadway boys and in appreciation of the warm show of community spirit from the Spotswood players and cheerleaders.

BHS boys give their well wishes to the Blazer girls as they enter the court

SHS Athletic Director, Mary Donnellan, was flooded with compliments on this act both at the tournament and when she arrived back at Spotswood on Thursday. Among them, a BHS staff member wrote in an email, "As a member of the Broadway community and a staff member at BHS, I would like to personally thank the cheerleaders and girls' basketball team for their support at the beginning of the BHS boys' basketball game in Richmond yesterday. To see these girls stop their celebration and line up for our boys to enter the stadium was soooooo impressive! It warms my heart to see the various schools come together as one. Please know that this gesture meant so much to Broadway and we all express our appreciation."

The next day, the BHS boys reciprocated with a gesture of kindness of their own by sending flowers to the Spotswood girls at school. By the time Saturday rolled around, the idea of a strong show of mutual support had gone viral through Facebook faster than "Pants on the Ground." Plans were made for fans from both schools to wear blue during the Spotswood game then green during the Broadway game. Or, many would wear both colors at the same time. Colors or not, they would be LOUD for both teams. And the fans - students, teachers, staff, parents, school board, community members - all bought into it.

Spotswood's Meghan Nicholson with her Big Green Monster shooting shirt during Saturday's pre-game

But what most didn't know was that the SHS girls had a two-color plan of their own. Waiting for the girls' final matchup to get underway, the Siegel Center crowd erupted wildly when the SHS girls entered the court for their pre-game warmups sporting solid green "Big Green Monster" shooting shirts. It was a display of solidarity that most had never witnessed on any court or playing field.

Strasburg High School Athletic Director, Matthew Hiserman, watched from the sideline then later lauded the unparalleled show of sportsmanship in a note to Ms. Donnellan, "Congratulations on your great seasons for girls and boys basketball. I thought what your girls did with the Broadway shirts Saturday night was one of the classiest things in athletics I have seen. It was a great atmosphere put forth by both your and Broadway's fans and the only thing that would have been better is if both teams would have won."

Board members Anthony Slater, John Myers, and Gayl Brunk cheer on the Gobblers on Saturday at the Siegel Center! (Earlier, they donned Blazer blue!)

It WAS a terrific atmosphere and it would have been GREAT for both teams to have come away with championships. In the movies, that's the way it would have happened, for sure. But in short time, many around here will probably forget who won the 2010 state championship titles. Yet the unique liaison between these RCPS school communities led by the players and the students in the Spotswood Blazer Crew and the Broadway Big Green Monster is a memory far less likely to fade in anyone's mind.