By Allison M. Strickland
The student section at basketball games may seem a little livelier lately, thanks to a handful of guys with a zany idea for a dance they call the “Cardinal Chomp.”
In an attempt to raise school spirit and make a name for the university with a trademark movement, the dance was created by five students: Rob Heavrin, a senior Marketing major; Tony Kamer, a sophomore Civil Engineering major; Matt Schaaf, a freshman Mechanical Engineering major; Kyle Marcum, a junior Interior Architecture major; and Michael Sticklen, a graduate student.
To prepare for the dance, participants paint their bodies red and their arms yellow. The arms are then crossed, elbow to elbow, so that the hands are near the shoulders. The arms are moved up and down, apart and together, in a chomping fashion. The red body represents the body of the cardinal, while the yellow arms represent the beak.
The dance was created at the Tennessee State game, but was not fully developed at that point. The motions of the beak “chomping” were in place, but they had not yet had the idea to paint their bodies red and yellow like a cardinal bird. The group unveiled the painted dance at the Cincinnati game.
The group feels the dance will improve basketball games because it is unique and will set U of L apart from other universities, while at the same time raising school spirit and giving the fans something to do.
“The L-Raisers have been trying for so long to find something to unite the student section,” Sticklen said. “They have tried so many gimmicks but nothing has been distinguishable from other schools.”
The dance, although very new, already has some followers. There are over 100 postings on http://www.insidetheville.com about the Chomp, and there were nearly 1,000 hits after only the five students did it at the Cincinnati game.
At the game against Memphis, the 15 who participated as Chompers were named the Players of the Game. They were also later mentioned on coach Rick Pitino’s radio show, and on WHAS 11.
“We’re getting lots of attention,” Kamer said.
The group has plans for possibly creating red shirts with long yellow sleeves, depending on how big the phenomenon gets. “We would like to see the entire student section do it,” Heavrin said. “The athletic teams are stepping up and improving; why shouldn’t the fans?”
A problem that the group sees with the Cardinal Chomp is that it would not carry over well into football season because of the different atmosphere and setting of the games.
“We want to be able to keep this a mainstay at Freedom Hall,” Heavrin said. “Hopefully people will enjoy it.”
At Sunday’s game against Saint Louis, the group would like to have at least 20 people participating in the Chomp. “If you don’t paint up, you could wear a long-sleeved yellow t-shirt with a red shirt over top,” said Kamer.
Heavrin is thankful to everyone who has complimented the group and who has been supportive. “We just want people to have fun,” he said.
