At Wakefield High School, the student body comes together to cheer each other on while calling themselves “The Wackos.” Each year two seniors take on the responsibility of leading the Wackos and this year, Jack Groh and Michael Wright have assumed that responsibility that the 2013-2014 Wacko leaders have passed on to them.

“As Wacko Leaders we have to make sure that everyone comes out to all the sporting events and gets as ‘hype’ as possible for the players so that they can get the W,” said Wright. “Jack and I have to be an example and be loud ourselves and make sure everyone is organized and together.”

The goal of the Wackos is to support the teams whether they play football, soccer, volleyball, or other sports at Wakefield High School.

“We want to generate as much energy in the student section as possible so that the players out playing can get inspired and bring home the W,” said Groh. “My goal is to get everyone as ‘hype’ as I get, and I get pretty ‘hype’.”

The Wackos don’t just leave the spirit in the stands. Taha Mirmozaffari, a current Wacko athlete, explained what makes someone a Wacko.

“Being a wacko means having school spirit on and off the field by showing support and always sticking up for your fellow Wackos,” said Mirmozaffari.

The Wackos have been a tradition at Wakefield for many years now, each year having new leaders. One of the jobs of the Wacko leaders is to create t-shirts for the student body to purchase and wear all together to a designated game.

“I like being able to express my ideas,” said Wright. “It’s cool seeing people wearing my design.”

Groh explained that he and Wright learned how to organize the orders of t-shirts from past leaders.

“We want to look and sound good,” said Groh. “It’s all about the W and we have to make sure to get loud on Friday nights.”

Sometimes everyone matching and cheering together causes the Wackos to get a little carried away with showing their spirit. After Wakefield scores a touchdown, the Wackos have a tradition of spraying silly string in the stands. The administrators love to see this enthusiasm, but sometimes the student’s safety gets in the way.

“The problem that we have had this year and in past years has been the throwing of items,” said Eric Bethiel, the assistant principal at Wakefield High School. “We’ve told students already that if the bottles and the silly string cans are being thrown, it’s not going to be allowed at the games anymore. We don’t want to take that away, but student safety is our biggest priority.”

When the Wackos are following the rules, their cheering makes a big impact on the players.

I used to drink coffee before my games but now the students turn me up,” said Mirmozaffari. “When I hear them cheering me on I get a pump of adrenaline and I keep reminding myself that it’s for the W and it always will be.”

The Wackos have always been involved in Wakefield High School activities and plan to continue doing that.

“If you have students that are involved in things it changes the entire climate of the school for the positive,” said Bethiel. “When you have a student body that is involved in activities, goes to games, and supports teams whether they are winning or losing, it makes the feeling at games amazing. We love what they do; the turnout we get from the students is great and so is what they bring to the games. Keep doing what you’re doing.”