MICHELLE HALE
Sports Editor
A new club on campus has been created with one goal in mind: to bring the Fredonia campus community together. Blue Crew is a school-sanctioned club created by two Blue Devil juniors: Hunter Long, a sports management major, and Marcus Ortiz, a exercise science major.
Long and Ortiz came up with the idea of Blue Crew after brainstorming ideas of how to bring a supportive atmosphere to athletic events at Fredonia. The two are members of the Fredonia men’s hockey team.
“Marcus and I were just sitting talking about how much fun it is to play away games because of the 500-1,500 person crowd you get to play in front of,” said Long. “We decided to come up with ways that we can have that kind of atmosphere here at Fredonia.”
With some late-night brainstorming, Ortiz and Long came up with a perfect idea — creating a club that brings students from all over campus together to support athletic events.
Blue Crew isn’t just for athletes, it is a club that the two co-founders hope will bring athletes, Greek life and any other major clubs together to show off their Blue Devil pride.
“It’s important to support because we are a school,” said Ortiz. “We should have pride in our school, sports, clubs and, ultimately, our friends.”
Although there are competitions within the varsity athletic teams for which team has the most school spirit, it is important for other groups and clubs to join in. With the addition of Blue Crew, this idea can be made a reality.
Throughout the year, Blue Crew creates “White Out” events. At these events, the club chooses a sporting event to go to and each member wears all white. The club forms a student section that has the main purpose of supporting and cheering on the athletic teams.
Blue Crew intends to create a fun and energetic environment for not only the players but for the supporters and fans to be able to cheer on a close-knit campus.
“The main goal is to create a following of all sports and clubs,” said Ortiz. “We wanted to start something we could come back and see develop long after we graduate from here.”
Long and Ortiz are just two of the many student athletes at Fredonia who have noticed the difference between game attendance at away games versus here at home. Other schools tend to have more of their own students at the games, cheering on their peers.
“When you have a student body cheering you on it motivates you,” said junior women’s soccer captain Kaleigh Creeden. “This club is a great addition because it’s getting all of campus closer and supporting our athletic achievements.”
Blue Crew gives students a way to join in the excitement of athletic events while feeling like they are a part of the actual team. It allows all the clubs and groups on campus to become unified while showing pride in their university.
Students interested in joining Fredonia’s Blue Crew can visit its Facebook page, “Fredonia Blue Crew,” or Twitter page, “@fredbluecrew,” to contact the group.