6’7” senior Tito Howell stands at the base of the stadium, facing a crowd of sweaty, screaming high schoolers decked out in red and gold clothing. “Hey!” he shouts to the group, commanding the attention of his troops. “We’re doing the Our House cheer next!” He shouts. After a hum of agreement, Howell begins, “This is?” to which the crowd excitedly responds “OUR HOUSE”. They continue, “This is…OUR HOUSE… This is… OUR HOUSE!”

This event is typical for Howell, for as a leader of the Sea of Red club, he must keep the student section engaged at various Cathedral sporting events. Seniors Tucker Boucher, Christina Johnson, and Vinnie Giacalone also lead the club, and they too must start cheers at various sporting events.

“We all help start and lead the cheers at games. We try to get everybody involved,” said Boucher.

The club supports athletes on nearly all of Cathedral’s teams. “We go to football, volleyball, water polo, field hockey, and basketball games. We want to go to every sport,” said Boucher. Howell agreed. “It’s is a way for our community to come together and cheer for our teams. We want to promote school spirit and get this spirit to the level it was in the past,” he said.

Howell and Boucher joined the club as freshmen, but in their sophomore year, the club was not approved by administration. Without Sea of Red, the student section grew dismal and school spirit seemed to decrease at games and rallies. During Howell and Boucher’s junior year, the club was reinstated, though it had become much smaller. “Last year [the club] had kind of died. We brought it back,” said Howell. “This is the year [Sea of Red] has been really big,” said Boucher.

Along with loud cheers, the Sea of Red student section makes its presence known with vibrant posters. At this year’s Holy Bowl, the fans’ signs were especially noteworthy, saying things like “Saints still uses MySpace”, “Saints watched The Notebook on the bus ride here”, and “Saints listens to One Direction”. “We made all the posters the night before the game. We got the idea from a Northern California high school, and we just kind of branched off with that idea,” said Boucher.

Though the club is lead by only seniors, students of all grade levels are involved. “Students can join by going to the sporting events and participating in the cheers. Also, come to our meetings every other gold 6 in Mr. Filippone’s room,” said Howell. The club leaders emphasized that Sea of Red is open to everyone; anyone is welcome to become a member at any time.

“Let’s bring the school spirit back!” said Howell.