Knight Krew

The "Knight Krew" is a student-led fan section for the Southington High School Blue Knight Varsity Sports Teams, namely Boy's Volleyball and Boy's Basketball. From its humble beginnings, the Knight Krew grew in size until it became a notable force throughout the state, with News Channel 4 reporting multiple times on both its magnitude and influence.

Humble Beginnings

The Knight Krew originated during the Boy's Basketball 2003-2004 Season, when now alumni Tom Lombardi
and at the time fellow seniors John Chiero, Larry Avitable, and Matt Collins obtained sponsors to donate
money in order to purchase shirts for the dedicated fans. Although the "rookie year" of the Knight Krew
consisted of a relatively small number of students, their cheering was heavily based on creativity, which
allowed them to "make their mark on the game". In addition to encouraging and cheering their fellow students
on to victory, they also focused on getting in the heads of their opponents, thereby giving the Southington
Team the upper hand in many a close game.

Coming of Age

Within 2 short years, the Knight Krew grew in popularity amongst the Southington High School Students.
Thusly, their numbers grew in size, yet they still maintained their creative aspects. The 2005-2006 Season
is known amongst the members of the Knight Krew as the first Golden Era of the student fan base. With notable
members Pat Yario, Mat Jaronko, Colin Neagle, and Rob Stuper, who attended nearly every game, unlike most Krew members, the group hit a creative high.
The now-staple chant "Boom-Chicka-Boom" exercised by members Ed Sanabria and Matt Parrotti when they decided to show up to only the big games, with some success.
and the now infamous "Knight Krew Sword" was brought into the limelight by Pat Yario.

Decline

The lowest point thus far for the Knight Krew was the beginning of the 2006-2007 Season. Clearly hurt by the graduation
of a large number of seniors, the graduating class of 2007 did not seem up to the task of maintaining the Knight Krew's
success. The graduating class of 2008, however did not feel as if the Knight Krew should be left to die in relative anonymity.
This resulted in a rift in the Knight Krew and eventually a split. While the number of the Class of 2007 members dwindled,
the number of the Class of 2008 members began exploding. Leading this renaissance was member Brendan McGourn, who began to
rethink the formation of the Knight Krew. McGourn believed that the Knight Krew could be the most significant in close games
with an extremely large number of students, while still attempting to maintain some creativity. Through guerilla marketing
tactics and the use of the Social Networking site Facebook, McGourn was able to build up a Knight Krew with greater than 100
members. This renaissance coincided with the playoff run of the Blue Knights Boy's Volleyball team, arguably propelling them
to the State Championship Game in 2007.

The Second Golden Age

The 2008 Basketball Season saw a return to form for the Knight Krew. With membership reaching upwards of 150 members,
the highest turnout for a single game occurred on the home opener of the 07'-08' Boy's Basketball Season. With such a large
population, the Knight Krew was at no shortness for creativity, and new chants such as the Blue Knight Beat, along with
sing-alongs and Costume Nights became popular in addition to the classics such as the Stop, Drop, and Rumble, and
"Boom-Chicka-Boom". This group, large enough to take up nearly half of the Southington High School gymnasium, began to
garner media attention.
When the Boy's Volleyball Season began, the team received attention for being one of the premier teams in the state,
but after attending a game, WFSB-TV gave the Knight Krew nearly as much attention as the Volleyball Team. As the Volleyball
team continued through the season and eventually till the State Championship game, their success, in addition to the Knight
Krew's was chronicled by WFSB News and featured on the SHS news program, The Southington K Factor. Through their new
found statewide popularity, the Knight Krew finally became renowned asa force to be reckoned with throughout the state of Connecticut.

Former and Current Knight Krew Leaders

Pat Yario
Mat Jaronko
Colin Neagle
Rob Stuper
Jeff Glowa Matt Parrotti Brendan McGourn
Taylor Canterbury
Louie Basile

[ [http://www.wfsb.com/video/16551005/index.html] ] http://www.wfsb.com/video/16551005/index.html
[ [http://www.wfsb.com/video/16168496/index.html] ] http://www.wfsb.com/video/16168496/index.html
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