Ever wonder just what the Pep Band is trying to say as they make noise throughout different games? Well, you've come to the right place. Here we'll break down our different chants and cheers that you might just hear on the court or field at the next game!

  When We Make a Free Throw:

Whoosh, there it is (hey hey whoo whoo hoorah [walking taco])

We would fully expect you to wonder about the story behind this saying. We will warn you, it is weird, if not outright disturbing.

So, this all started with "Whoosh" during a Mid-Con tournament in the Quad Cities. The following year, "there it is" was added during a game against Youngstown to pick on them as our team was beating them. Shortly thereafter, "clap clap, hey hey whoo whoo", was added. All this is courtesy of Andy, Chris Clausing, Scott Paukner, and Sara Holub (the crazy low brass section). Then we went to the first Mid-Con tournament in Fort Wayne where we were greeted by an article in the local paper that talked about how Valpo was coming to town for a "Hoorah" party. Well, as we all know the news is always right, we had to add, "Hoorah". Then in the arena at Fort Wayne, there is a commercial on the "jumbotron" for the "Walking Taco" ... (you didn't know that this cheer captures a good amount of pep band history did you?).

  If the opposing team misses a Free Throw:

If the opposing team misses a Free Throw:

1. Men's: Nice shot buddy!
2. Women's: Nice shot, girlie!

  During a Free Throw:

When the other team is throwing free throws (courtesy of a mostly empty and awfully dead ARC during some girl's game) we have been known to yell random vegetable names, states, and just about any other thing that might just be obscure or weird enough to cause everybody to look at us surprised (or bewildered). Creating bizarre lines of logic such as yelling "tofu" followed by "red meat," proved unsuccessful at times in disrupting the free throw shooting, but when followed by "omnivore" even the most hardened basketball player was inevitably confused by such high levels of logic applied to free throw cheers.

  Other Team Traveling:

He/She travelled, he/she travelled, he/she walked, he/she walked (in rythm; repeat)

Appropriate hand gestures are included with the rhythm

  The Hey Song:

We spell our school name to the beat of the song.

V-A-L-P-A-R-A-I-S-O... Let's Go Valpo...

I'm sure you all know the parts to the "Hey" song. Those also have their roots in the band.

  Four Fouls:

"Four Fouls, Oh, Oh, he/she's in foul trouble"
If this happens either in the first half or early in the second half add: "already" This is our crowd favorite, although they never join us. It occurs when a player from the opposing team receives their fourth foul.

  Five Fouls:

"nah nah, nah nah, nah nah nah nah, hey hey hey, good bye"

When the hopefully inevitable 5th foul comes the band has been known rejoice in this song.

or

pick a random note to sing on (sort of like the noise part at times in the game) and when the player sits down yell "See ya".

  General Cheering:

The band has long been known as cheerleaders (in the sense of the word rather than the outfit you wear) for our teams. We have a reputation of being loud, obnoxious, and that picking on the other team and cheering for our team are practically second nature to us. We are not afraid to make fools of ourselves to reach that goal. It is important to note that while doing all this, we've prided ourselves of doing all this without yelling threats or offensive insults as some people feel the need to do. This has earned us many thanks from teams, has garnered us compliments such as "without you we couldn't have won that game" (or similar) and has been the envy of visiting crowds.

  Visiting Team Introductions:

While the jury is still out on the "who cares" while the opposing team is introduced, the tamer reading of our school newspaper, "The Torch", is “read” by the band during visiting team introductions.

  Visiting Team Time-Outs:

Particularly when the visiting team calls a time-out to "stop the bleeding" after our team makes a run, it has been our tradition to crank the Amps just a bit more and point the bells of our instruments straight at the other team's bench and show them what exactly volume is all about (which may result in the team relocating its time-out discussions further and further away from us onto the court and it irritates them).

  The Drum:

While primarily an instrument of steady beat, the esteemed Ben Dickman turned playing the bass drum into something resembling a cult that can not quite be put into words. In essence, the bass drum player was as much part of the entertainment as the rest of the band playing. What is now 24 (School's Out) the drum must be pounded to the point where the drum head is in serious danger of giving (or the head of the drum stick flies across the court where it is eventually recovered by a referee who seems confused by the essence of the object on the court).

  Odds and Ends:

These are items that you will have to ask people about as the explanations could continue for a while: - Truth or Dare w/ a Pom Pon/Crusaderette Outfit
- The birth of "Ernie Special"
- "Pep Band Stud" hats
- Welcome to the Quad Cities, the home of ....
- Sauna + Chlorine = ?
- The combo is playing ... Cocaine ?
- The ryder truck
- Why is the pepband wearing UMKC windbreakers ?
- Loose fit jeans
- We're not stupid, we're just more clever than you!
- Dippin Dots
- Why does the crusader band get an artice in the U of MI school newspaper ?
- Malls
- Krogers
- The stand above the door of our cage
- Foreman Grill
- Jumer's Castle
- Serenading
- Mechanically Seperated Meat
- Giant Sub Sandwiches
- EEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
- Magic Marker High
- Kazoos

Information compiled by Simon Kissler, Scott Paukner, Ben Dickmann, Dan Kenning, Andy Westbrook, and Tammy Harrell