The traditional Homecoming motorcade will not be led by cheerleaders this year, after the entire event’s schedule was reshaped following Hurricane Sandy.
“It’s kind of annoying because we are missing out on tradition,” said Sarah Ellman ’15, a member of the varsity cheerleading team. “But I ended up being okay with it because it is important for us to be at the game on time.”
According to Ellman and other cheerleaders, the team was told yesterday there isn’t enough time between the end of school at 2:15 and the start of the game at 5 p.m. for cheerleaders to participate and be back to school in time. Zoe Googe ’13, co-captain of the varsity cheerleading squad, said that compounding the timing issues, the seniors will be honored on the field with their parents before the game begins.
Every year at Staples, it is tradition for the cheerleaders to lead a motorcade around town, starting at Compo Beach and ending at Staples, during the morning of the homecoming football game. The motorcade is like a mini-parade, with crowds of seniors riding in everything from pick-up trucks to convertibles.
Underclassmen cheerleaders said that while they hate to surrender the tradition, they will host a dinner honoring the seniors for their senior day.
“We really wanted to do the motorcade and wish we could,” said Ellman, “But since we can’t, we are having dinner for our seniors.”
The fate of the motorcade at this point is not clear. And if it occurs, it’s unsure who will lead it. Cheerleader Alexa Davis said that she isn’t sure who, if anyone, is leading it, and that it’s a cause for worry because other students might not know the route and how to avoid heavy traffic. By contrast, she said, the cheerleaders “have been doing it for four years.”
In a Facebook group hosted by the Staples “Superfans,” students who plan to participate in the motorcade are warned to watch out for schoolbuses and children being dropped off. There has never been a motorcade in late afternoon during a school day. In addition, the post noted that in the past police escorts had ensured seniors could run red lights; the poster urged caution.
