School spirit is not something Athens Drive lacks, but a special club keeps it thriving behind the scenes. At Athens, the Blue Crew is the key to getting people excited about sporting events around the Drive. This year, Blue Crew has grown exponentially compared to years prior and student turnout to games has reflected that.
To join Blue Crew, every Athens student gets an email explaining the club and asking if they’d be interested in it. Students of any grade are welcome to join, and if they show interest, they can fill out a Google form. Then, all of the applicants are added to the club’s group chat.
For the 2024-2025 school year, there are new senior leaders. Co-leaders Susan McGraw and Bryce Jensen work together to bring new ideas to the student section at Athens Drive. Along with running Blue Crew, McGraw is the student body president.
“I try to go to as many games as I can, and I really enjoy cheering on the Jaguars,” said McGraw.
McGraw is trying to bring her new ideas into the club. She wants Blue Crew to start supporting more than just football and basketball. This year, McGraw’s goal for the club is to go to at least one home game for each sport: volleyball, soccer, lacrosse, and many others.
McGraw has enjoyed combining Blue Crew and Student Council to get maximum turnouts for events. A rule that must be followed as a member of Blue Crew is to attend all football or basketball games. This allows for a larger turnout since Blue Crew members invite their friends to the games that they are required to attend.
“Volleyball has a breast cancer awareness game; we will try to show up for that,” said McGraw. “Soccer on Friday has a home game and football is an away game. We are going to split up the games. Bryce will be at the soccer game with some members, and I will go to the football game at [Apex] Friendship.”
Lauryn Webb and Julia Seriguchi Chen have leadership roles as Blue Crew social media coordinators. They are in charge of marketing the sports games to get students interested in attending. This year, Blue Crew’s TikTok and Instagram are more active than ever.
“Our goal this year is to get more people to come to games and participate and have fun. Years prior, it has not been as fun,” said Webb. “Student section leaders didn’t chant and it wasn’t as fun.”
The purpose of Blue Crew’s social media is to make funny and engaging posts so people will want to come. Fun dress-up themes get students involved in school spirit. Blue Crew strives to be the face of athletics around the school, spreading spirit and getting students more engaged, involved, and excited about sports.
“There has really been a big effort by students this year and I feel like turnout to games has shown the club is working,” said McGraw.
Follow Instagram! @adnbluecrew
