Ryan Hickey Inspires Talawanda Sports Fans
Hickey, second from the left, with his contra section before a football game. (Photo by T.J. Ngorosha)
EVERYBODY DO THAT BIG BRAVE RUMBLE, EVERYBODY DO THAT BIG BRAVE RUMBLE! EVERYBODY, LET’S RUUUUMBLE!
Senior Ryan Hickey has been a member of the Talawanda Marching Band for four years. In those four years, he has played the same instrument, the contra. The contra is a tuba that the player puts on their shoulder and is played in that position. However, when he’s not out performing, he’s having fun exciting the fans.
Hickey pumps up the students and parents by doing some of the cheers and chants with the cheerleaders. “I believe that your outlook is 90% mental,” Hickey said. “So, when I see most of the crowd standing around in a somber fashion, why wouldn’t I try to help them have a better time?”
Hickey started doing the Big Braves Rumble, a favorite cheer of the fans, with the cheerleaders at the first home game this season.
Varsity cheerleader Megan Wise said she thinks that Hickey enjoys the crowd, and he has fun livening them up. “Seeing someone different get pumped up gets them pumped up,” said Wise.
The crowd has had a positive reaction on Hickey’s crowd cheering. Every time the band circles around the cheerleaders, they know that he’s going to be doing some of the cheers.
Hickey has some fans in the student section and most of them are seniors. Hickey’s fans go to all of the games, rain or shine, to cheer him on. When they see him coming out of the band arch, they know that there’s about to be a show. Senior Andrew Marks, one of Hickey’s fans, said that he appreciates Hickey’s enthusiasm because “he is the man.”
Many students say that they feed off the energy that Hickey and the drumline give out. They give football games more meaning besides the competition. It’s a time where you can have fun with your friends and listen to the chants of the cheerleaders and see Ryan Hickey at work. “Ryan’s brilliant choreography really helps entertain the crowd,” said junior Jared Cornett, a member of the marching band.
There’s no doubt that Ryan Hickey likes the crowd’s attention, so will he continue to help the cheerleaders out during basketball season?
“Heck yeah man!” Hickey said, “that’s where I got my cheering roots!”
Be sure to look for Ryan, ready to pump up the crowd, as basketball season starts!
