The smell of tailgate food, cheerleaders being tossed in the air, the hum of excited fans and now four FHS students dressed in suits channeling their best Pat McAfee. What started as a project for a sports marketing class is turning into a crucial part of Friday nights.
“[The main goal is] to educate people about the sports teams and our football team,” senior Andrew Lee said. “But we also want to be entertaining and funny at the same time and just have a good time.”
The team consists of four hosts, seniors Ryan Mitchell, Ethan Gardner, Sam Keithley and Ethan Poto. There are also three producers, seniors Andrew Lee, Campbell Tavernier and Casey Alexander.
“We’ve got the host, which is me, and then we’ve got three analysts, and they go over game statistics,” Poto said. “My job is to transition through different segments. And then we have the producers and they’re here to help us set up and be behind the camera. They do all the audio and visual elements.”
School spirit is an essential part of Friday Night Lights and FHS Gameday is certainly helping to display it. Not to mention, FHS Gameday is unique to Fishers and the creators are hoping it will give Fishers a leg up in the statewide competition to get the coveted Channel 8 student section banner. The banner is awarded to the student section with the most school spirit each year as a part of WishTV’s sports coverage.
“It adds a new element to the game,” Keithley said. “Everyone likes coming to Fishers to watch the games and it adds a little something extra to the beginning of the games. Plus it’s something that nobody else is doing and could potentially win us the banner.”
When it comes to fun, FHS Gameday knows how to have it. From bringing in Tiger Cage leaders, to students to the school principal, they know how to keep a crowd on its toes.
“We involve the student section and interact with the fans, we eat the tailgate food,” Mitchell said. “We’re hoping to get some crazy special guests on too, maybe some pre-NFL players.”
While the creators of this pregame show are seniors, they all hope to make FHS Gameday a new tradition, passing it on each year to a new generation of hosts and producers.
“We discussed that maybe every year we could pass it down to juniors who will be seniors, like how Tiger Cage does it,” Lee said.
If you missed out on this new addition, do not fret. You can watch all the past pregame shows on The 3:40’s Youtube channel and watch them live on game days. To see the pregame highlights, follow the show on Instagram @fhsgameday_.
