Official Student Newspaper of Henry M. Gunn High School

The Oracle

Official Student Newspaper of Henry M. Gunn High School

The Oracle

Official Student Newspaper of Henry M. Gunn High School

The Oracle

Sixth Man Club thrives with new members

By: Monica Cai

Photos by: Victor Kwok

With the start of the basketball season comes the rebirth of Gunn’s Sixth Man Club. This year’s club brings great school spirit and a group of loud, energetic students that can be found in the stands at almost every game cheering for the teams. “The Sixth Man Club is more eloquent than Piers Morgan, sexier than Brooklyn Decker, classier than the Gunn Gentlemen’s Club, and more free-spirited than Howard Stern,” senior Sports Commissioner Kevin Zhang said.

“It’s nice that there is an opportunity to cheer with friends in unique and ridiculous ways,” junior Jesse Zwerling said. “It’s one of the few times during the year that you can have some fun with classmates who normally are too busy.”

According to senior Ori Herschmann, the club had been losing followers since the class of 2009 and this year’s class has been bringing it back up. “We know how much a crowd can influence a team, and it’s fun cheering them on,” Herschmann said. The Sixth Man Club also dons their own t-shirts at games with a design created by senior Jordan Leung and tweaked by junior Spirit Commissioner Cat Perez.

Leung is also an avid basketball fan, and in addition to attending most of the games, Leung is also the main writer of Gunn’s basketball blog, found at http://gunnbasketball.wordpress.com, in addition to his own personal basketball blog. “I blog so the world knows what a great person I am,” Leung said. The blog updates students on basketball games and has received praise for its humor. “I think [the blog is] brilliant,” Zwerling said. “It has a very unique taste to it, which takes a little time to get used to, but it’s quite hilarious.” According to Leung, the blog includes statistics (sometimes exaggerated), memorable quotes and the Jacoubowsky Player of the Game. “The Jacoubowsky Player of the Game is for the Sixth Man Club Member who made the greatest contribution that game,” Leung said. His blog has also sparked the Let Redfield Dunk (LRD) movement which has 117 fans on Facebook and is a popular cheer at the games. According to Leung, LRD started out as joke intended for a friend but spread beyond his control.

LRD is one of the many cheers Gunn’s Sixth Man Club chants to support its players. Sometimes, however, the club can get a little too rowdy, though Assistant Principal Tom Jacoubowsky is always there to tone things down. “The last couple of years I really haven’t had issues with the club,” Jacouboswky said. “If they go overboard, I give them the nonverbal eye, and they know. The key thing is no personal insults.” Although Jacoubowsky is not there every game, he assures students that the crowd will always be watched. “I can’t disclose who, but we have special people,” he said. “We have our ways.”

While Sixth Man Club has made a triumphant return this year, members are unsure of how well it will be continued next year. “We’d really like to see more underclassmen step up because at the end of the year we’ll be graduating,” Herschmann said. “We want to see underclassmen take on the club.” Zwerling couldn’t agree more. “Everyone is welcome,” Zwerling said. “We’ll lose a lot of culture with the class of 2011, but hopefully we can re-establish it next year.”

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