Jungle Roars Back to Life
Camille Storch
CO-EDITOR IN CHIEF
Coming back from a season of no fans at all, Andover High School’s sports teams got the support they deserve as the AHS Jungle roared back to life after mask mandates were lifted.
The Jungle is AHS’s school spirit section, a fun, high energy student section that has made their presence known this past winter. While the Jungle is encouraged to attend as vast a variety of sports as they can, the greatest turnouts have been at boys and girls basketball games. The boys made it to the state semifinals and the girl’s made it all the way to the state championship, losing in a hard fought battle to Springfield Central.
“I hope the Jungle continues in the future,” said boys basketball coach David Fazio. “I hope we continue to be good in the coming years because the student body doesn’t want to come out and watch a team that is not very successful. It’s kind of like, we’ve got to do our part and be good and then I know our student body will follow us.”
Fazio describes the large presence of the student body at games as “the sixth man in basketball…it’s like we have an extra player on the court with our five players when we have the Jungle.” For this team, the energy, enthusiasm, relationships, friendships, and camaraderie is “second to none.”
Jungle cheers on AHS boys basketball team during the February 3 game
Although COVID guidelines have relaxed, Athletic Director Bill Martin has worked closely with the administration, superintendent, and Board of Health in Andover to keep an eye on COVID cases in Andover. “The reduced attendance was set up as a temporary situation,” said Martin. “We were slowly able to open up to larger crowds with time and now, we are fully open with no masks.”
Boys basketball player Rohit Srinivasan noticed a large difference in the amount of fans and support at games this season. “As a team, we did a lot better this year so I feel like more people came…the more fans, more kids, the more energy in the Jungle reflected onto the court.” For Srinivasan, a core memory is the rival game against Central Catholic at home. “I got a steal, I got a layup, and the Jungle was just going crazy. I think that got the team pumping and they really helped the game,” stated Srivinvasan.
“We have a select few of very dedicated fans that come to every single game,” stated junior girls basketball player Kathleen Yates, including the jungle members and family members. Their support is felt throughout the team.
“The Jungle makes a big impact, especially in big games,” added senior captain Morgan Shirley. “If there is a student section for the other team but not yours, it can get in your head a bit, so the support of Andover fans adds a lot of energy.”
Last year, no fans were allowed at any games due to COVID restrictions, which made it difficult to get that support from the student section. “I feel bad for those five seniors who didn’t get the opportunity to play in front of great crowds at home,” recalled Fazio. “I mean, the only thing you could hear in the gym [last year] was me yelling at my players. There was nothing else that you could hear but the echo of my voice, so it has been so good to have the student body back for sure.”
