[Eugenia Gabrielov]

A couple of thoughts on cheering...it's all about psychology.

Think about what makes you want to be spirited. Is it your drive to see your team succeed? Is it your hope to make it onto the camera? Is it a challenge from other spirited teams to outdo their noise level? Sure, everybody says they cheer to cheer, but somewhere deep down everybody is motivated by something. As Tom said very well, cheering is contagious because the people that start it want to, and give others reason to go along.

Try slow. Talk to a couple students who have shown unique enthusiasm, and maybe discuss it with them. See what you can do to improve the situation with a couple people, and get them enthusiastic! You are a mascot - have you considered trying to get people to switch up the job too?

Another idea is to have team members write new cheers. I love our team's cheers, but some years we come up with new things. Each generation is different, and newer members might have a cool idea for a cheer that they are too shy to share.

Finally - my biggest suggestion - is make use of spirited alliance partners when you can. They have experience and they're loud, and they're usually more than happy to help you join them.