An explosion of noise.
Under the harsh lights of Hunt Stadium, the brown, beaten ball finds its way into the endzone.
Touchdown Lions.
The student section has become a wave of white, a buzzing amalgamation that shakes the stadium’s railings with its zealous cheers and chants.
And just in front of the roaring crowd, in their cowboy boots and blue shirts, a handful of Upper School students bound across the sidelines, waving their billowing flags in the warm, slightly humid air of the late September night.
The Spurs.
Since their inception dating back to the 1990s, the Spurs have played a key role in Lions Football for over three decades, and their iconic white shirts have become a familiar sight at home football games.
But now, with their defining white shirts being discarded in favor of a new, navy-blue button-down, and no seniors stepping onto the team to lead the underclassmen, there’s no doubt that the Spurs are going into a new, unpredictable chapter of their multi-decade service.
Junior Spurs captain Michael Finn McKool acknowledges the uncertainty that comes with the rebrand, but he’s confident that the changes will heighten the group’s level of connection within the community.
“Going into the summer, we didn’t have a lot of signups, so I realized that something had to change,” McKool said. “I want us to be part of the football program but also expand it to other things like McDonald’s Week or robotics tournaments, and that’s the biggest rebrand of it all.”
The Spurs are more than just hype men, though. They are an extension of the student council itself, and their influence reaches farther than Hunt Stadium or Spencer Gym.
“I have extremely high expectations of the Spur(s),” Student Council Advisor Michele Santosuosso said. “All eyes are on you, and the community holds you to such esteem. Having so many eyes on you, there are higher expectations.”
The Spurs have always been a unique part of the school’s culture. The energy they bring is so unmatched, so salient that it infects all in attendance, bringing them to their feet.
“It’s just exciting,” Santosuosso said. “We’ve even had Coach (Kevin) Dilworth grab a flag and run. You can feel (their) energy and push back on it.”
The blue polos and brown hats serve as more than just flashy visual changes, though: they’re an intentional effort to renew the Spurs, to create something as synonymous with St. Mark’s as blue & gold.
“So many people have forgotten how we act and who we are, so I think that it’s time to bring ourselves back into the limelight,” McKool said.
Regardless of the color of their shirts or the age of their members, and whether it be under the lights of a Friday-night football game or the stage of a robotics tournament, the Spurs will continue to be who they’ve always been: that handful of Upper School students bounding across the sidelines, waving their billowing flags through the air.
“It’s a rare opportunity to be a part of a team that (deepens) your connection with your community in a way that other groups around campus haven’t done in the past,” McKool said. “We care about our community and every team, no matter how big or small (they) are. I (hope) that the Spurs will continue to grow into a beloved part of our community.”
