Whoooosh! Boooom! Snap! The multicolored fireworks illuminated the clear, dark sky in sync with a medley of songs including “We Are The Champions” and “Sandstorm.” The fireworks acted as a finale for last Friday night’s fall pep rally, but also merely a sample of the enthusiasm and excitement of Saturday’s Andover/Exeter games to come. Disbelief filled students minds as they could not believe that such an amazing event was happening right before there eyes at their own high school. “I’ve seen fireworks for many occasions like the 4th of July, but I have never seen fireworks this good,” said Jane Shin ’08. As opposed to previous years, the Blue Key Heads held this year’s pep rally outdoors at Phelps Stadium instead of inside the Borden Gym. Justin Yi and Yurie Sekigami, two ’06 alumni who came back for the Andover/Exeter weekend, said, “When we saw the fireworks we were about to cry! It reminded us so much of freshmen year, memories just flooded back.” Many returning students felt apprehensive about holding the pep rally outdoors. Many like the fact that Borden Gym is an enclosed area so the sounds can reverberate off the walls, creating even more commotion. Also, people feared the weather would be too cold, inhibiting the excitement of the evening. However, none of these factors got in the way of this year’s success. Fears about an outdoor pep rally were extinguished, and the pep rally surpassed many students’ expectations. Commenting on the pep rally overall, one of Abbot’s Blue Key Heads, Ekow Essel ’07 said, “We knew the fireworks were going to be a big hit with the students, so we didn’t want to hold back creativity by making it a themed pep rally.” To introduced the Boys’ Soccer team Blue Key Heads, reenacted the “head-butt seen ‘round the world.” Essel and Alex Schwartz ’07 made fun of the the incident which occurred during the final game of the World Cup, when French player Zinedine Zidane head butted an Italian soccer player. The soccer team kept things short and sweet with their skit. The captain of the team, Alex Clifford ’07, led the team in five quick synchronized claps. The Girl’s Field Hockey team followed with a staged fight to Austin Power’s theme song, “The Spy Who Shagged Me.” Half the team dressed in blue to represent our school and the other half, dressed up in red, represented the Exies. Throughout the song, the Andover students successfully beat the Exeter students to a red pulp. Next, the Girl’s Soccer team danced to Disney’s movie “High School Musical.” Then, as a tribute to the senior girls, they showed off their dance moves to “Walk It Out.” Jack Fitts ’07 said, “After watching the girls do their dances, it makes me want to go to their games at A/E.” For Girl’s Cross Country, West Quad North’s Blue Key Head, Sam Gould ’07, jogged onto the field wearing a tight tank top and shorts. After exhaling deeply and pausing momentarily, Gould pulled out an apple from his shirt and took a bite out of it. Then, the real cross-country team appeared on the field and chanted their song. Even though the pep rally was outdoors on the football field’s soft turf, SLAM still brought their moves to the stadium. To ensure that the group’s fierce stomps and claps could be heard, the SLAM team performed on a stage in the football field. Afterwards, the Girl’s Volleyball team danced to MC Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This.” This song symbolized their team’s undefeated season. Finally, the Boys’ Football team erased stereotypes of the “macho foot ball jocks.” Katie Estaba ’07 said “The Boys’ Football team surprised me because on the field they get down to business, but at the pep rally they just let loose and let their wild side show.” As for the turnout, the class of ’10 and ’09 held their ground, the class of ’08’s stand was pretty densely packed. However, as the top of the school and the oldest class, the class of ’07 really stood out and showed their senior spirit. Nui Waritta Suebphanwong’07 said, “The Blue Key Heads really engaged everyone and brought out the best of crowd. Even though the BKH’s led the crowd, they made me feel included, like I was one of them.”
