Give me an Orange! Give me an Orange! Give me an Orange, Orange, Orange! Give me a White! Give me a White! Give me a White, White, White!

Yelling this saying is what gets students pumped up for football games, especially the first game of the season. It’s also about bragging rights for the most spirited class. The competition pits the grades against each other to see who can yell the loudest for their football team.

Adding the yelling and the bragging rights creates an exciting air in the gym during the Arkansas pep rally. The annual Texas vs. Arkansas game is one that creates bragging rights for both sides of the Stateline, but that is where the tradition ends for Texas High students.

“Texas High students used to get pumped up for the game, but now Arkansas High gets pumped because they think it is their year,” sophomore Savanna Martin said. “We think that we have spirit that week, but we really don’t.”

Leading up to the game is where Arkansas is beating Texas High. Texas High can’t be beat by Arkansas High in school spirit and tradition, so let’s add some zing to Texas/Arkansas week. Spirit days consist of dressing up as cowboys, in camouflage, and putting on aprons. These all help to get the student body excited about the game.

“Spirit days help me see how everyone supports the football team,” sophomore cheerleader Chelsea Villanueva said. “Also, watching everyone get excited for the game that I am cheering for helps keep the spirit up leading to the game.”

If only the whole student body could get involved, everyone would be crazy for the game on Friday night. When students walk around the halls on game day, several people have the same expression of another day of school.

Look around the halls and many have dull eyes, no smiles, and dragging feet that are bound by the prison called school. Nothing is felt to be special about the upcoming game. New traditions need to start in order to get people excited.

“It would be cool to do a pig roast and bonfire either before the game or the Thursday night before the Arkansas game to get everyone excited,” freshman Madeline Parish said.

The whole idea of Texas/Arkansas week is to get the students excited, and in order to keep Texas High kids entertained, they need something crazy to tweet about.

Something tweet worthy did actually happen, but it was even before the first cell phone. In the 1980s, Texas High used to have a tiger that was a part of the marquee at the front of the school on Kennedy Lane. This tiger was once stolen by Arkansas High students and another year they threw red paint on it. After these incidents, seniors would sleep under the tiger, the night of the game, to keep Arkansas students from messing with it.

“I felt proud about the tiger,” Mary Hackleman, class of ‘84, said. “I didn’t want the Arkansas High students messing with our school’s mascot.”

Having pride in our school is great, but the students need to get excited for the game. It would be nice to make the games college-like, so students could get the chance to experience a college atmosphere. High school is already the stepping stone to college.

“The seniors should be able to ‘tailgate’ at the stadium either right after school or during the day,” junior Katelyn Dobbins said. “The game should be made into a college–like game atmosphere to get the students pumped up more.”

Once students have more interest in the week and the game, then more traditions will arise to rival our rival’s. This rivalry is an old one, but it can still be revamped to get the energy and spirit up. New traditions can be made and the week can become more exciting.

“During the Arkansas pep rally, the band plays and learns new songs every year,” sophomore Elizabeth Colvin said. “For me, the Bacon Fry is the best tradition that is still around because the atmosphere of eating your rival’s mascot is really exciting. Adding the new songs and the Bacon Fry make the day fun and energizing.”