The crowd chatters as students and parents sit in the gym bleachers, excited for halftime to come to an end. Tension builds as the players huddle and prepare for the second half of the basketball game. Suddenly, a pair of students enter the gym with a big blue launcher aimed at the crowd. Two T-shirts are launched into the stands, galvanizing fans as the second half of the game starts up again.
Occasionally making appearances at sporting events this year, the new T-shirt launcher purchased for the spirit commission has been on a roll in energizing crowds and hyping spirit.
According to spirit commissioner Jennah El-Ashmawi, the Leadership class plans on using the gun during during breaks for sports like football, basketball and volleyball.
Having purchased 50 Red Zone T-shirts for the new launcher, spirit commissioners plan on shooting two to four shirts every game to make halftimes more exciting and energetic for audiences. Because of its exclusivity and limited number, catching one of these shirts makes students feel special and excites them with spirit.
Currently, Leadership is still having trouble fine-tuning the gun to make it as efficient as possible. At first, the launcher had trouble firing shirts far enough, and many adjustments were made to increase the range and to shoot more consistently.
“We haven’t had major difficulties, but we had to test the range and how much air pressure to put into [the gun],” El-Ashmawi said.
Senior Joey Bruno, one of the first students who got to shoot the new T-shirt gun at a school sporting event, counts himself as a fan of the launcher.
“It was super fun to use, because usually, they only have the robotics robot which shoots T-shirts at football games, but with the air cannon, you can bring it to all the sporting events,” Bruno said.
Excited to see how students react to the appearance of the new T-shirt gun, Leadership is hopeful that the launcher becomes an extra highlight for fans at sporting events.
“I think the T-shirt gun will get more students to come to sports events, since they might have a chance at getting a free T-shirt,” El-Ashmawi said.
