It was around 5:15 p.m., and a group of DHS students had arrived at Rocky Marciano Stadium in Brockton on Tuesday, November 27, to watch the Dartmouth Indians play the Brockton Boxers. However, the game didn’t start until 7:00, and the DHS team was on the bus probably somewhere around Freetown. Sitting on the far side of the parking lot, attending to six grills, and $80 worth of steak tips, linguica dogs, and stir fry ingredients, the students were tailgating right up to the first kickoff of the game.

Other fans didn’t go to the same extremes as this group, who traveled in droves with painted faces, wearing green and white clothing like it was a new fashion statement. Voluntary members of the band attended the game, instruments in tow, and took a seat among the fans in the bleachers to help celebrate the touchdowns and quiet down the Brockton fans.

The bleachers for the away team were filled with teachers, students, DHS alumni, parents of the athletes, young children, elderly, and even people with no connection to DHS at all. Among the large groups of excited students, seating was tight, and it appeared as if the DHS side of the field had more fans than the home team’s side.

With 1:44 minutes left in the first quarter, Dartmouth scored a touchdown on a pass to junior Justin Mello, which led to an uproar from the stands and a screaming debut of "Glory to Dartmouth."

As if the game itself wasn’t exciting enough, the DHS cheerleading squad added a new piece to their usual routine: chucking pieces of candy into outstretched arms of screaming fans, hitting the occasional unsuspecting old woman. When not diving under the bleachers for lost candy, the students yelled and waved at the cameras aimed at them, even yelling the occasional obscenity at the referees.

The fans enjoyed chanting "Jordan Todman" after every one of his runs, and Chris Toole, Alex Sykes, Justin Mello, and even health teacher Steve Gaspar, all had chants sung about them. A favorite of the fans was "Fifty-one, kill someone," describing the extreme intensity of junior Chris Toole. A parent sitting in front of the group agreed, stating, "Chris Toole! He’s a madman!"

Other fans even had their own special cheer, such as seniors Jon Eisenberg and Quintin Labonte when they shouted "Move them chains!" for every successful first down. Senior Danny Trifone ran along the sidelines of the field encouraging the fans to scream louder, which brought about a tumult of excitement from the crowd.

Despite failed attempts at starting the wave, the group was not discouraged and continued to have the same energy as the first minute of the game. As the clock wound down and the Brockton stands emptied, the fans began singing the famous "Ole, Ole" song, usually associated with soccer games, and the always popular, "It’s all over" chant. A final "Glory to Dartmouth" was sung, and even English teacher Michelle Alexander could be seen in the front row of the bleachers singing along.

While head coach Rick White was having water dumped on him, students were discussing crashing the field and running down the bleachers to line up along the fence. One student was brave enough to put his foot on top of the fence, only to be confronted by a rather large crowd control man, ready to hold him back.

Everyone was on a high and excited for what the future held in store for the team. Senior Mike Sylvia said, "This game, so far, has been one of the greatest moments of my DHS career."

The constant singing, dancing, and high-fiving of the fans provided enough heat for everyone, even on an already moonlit and mild night. Little did the fans know that they should have saved some of that heat for the Superbowl game on Saturday, December 1, at the home of the New England Patriots, Gillette Stadium.

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The wind-chilled temperature of 5 degrees did not stop many from traveling to Foxboro to see the Indians play against the Everett Crimson Tide, as two fan buses were sent up, along with the band, and many others drove separately. Some students even found their own places where they could tailgate again, grilling burgers and hotdogs, most of which hung out at the nearby Red Fox Motel, after paying a $50 fee.

Stepping up their own game for the big game, the fans came with green beads, hats, painted faces, blankets, homemade Superbowl shirts, jerseys, and of course, many layers of green and white apparel.

The Dartmouth fans clearly outnumbered the Everett fans, filling about three and a half sections of the stadium, with Everett filling an embarrassing two sections. Many students stood up the entire game, even sometimes directly on the seats, only to be occasionally reprimanded by the stadium security guards to get down.

The fans were not just DHS students, either. Tons of families went to the game, along with recent and older alumni. Many might not know, but this Superbowl game marked thirty years since the DHS class of 1978 played in the Superbowl against Boston College High, and a lot of members from that team were in attendance. Also, a lot of the DHS seniors commented about how they started their freshman year at DHS with a state championship from the girls basketball team and were ending their four years with a record-breaking run from the football team.

It was great to see a lot of the DHS staff attending the game, too. Math teachers Gary Lauher and Richard Magan, science teachers Margaret Brumsted and Andrew Goodman, and English teacher Ann Fifield made it to the game. Many other teachers were also there, along with coaches to help with the crowd control, and of course, DHS principal Donna Dimery was on the sidelines enthusiastically cheering the team on.

Cups of hot chocolate and hand warmers were popular with the fans, but screaming and doing the tomahawk chop with their arms also helped to keep them warm. The students knew what time it was as they "got loud and represented" throughout the game, with chants of "D-Mouth, you know!"



The atmosphere at Gillette stadium was intense as the boys on the field battled and returned a score after each one of Everett’s touchdowns, only to lead to an emotional roller coaster for the fans.

Seniors Chris Pires and Alex Potts both agreed about the enthusiasm of the fans stating, "The game is epic, and the students are freezing, but everyone is facing the cold because of our Dartmouth spirit!"

Despite the final result of the game, the DHS football team of 2007 has given the town of Dartmouth and all of the students at DHS an experience that will be very difficult to forget.