The beat of percussion instruments, and the fight song. Synchronized chants from the band members, following behind the cheerleaders. Spontaneous shouts and cheering from the crowd behind, carrying torches.
The torchlight parade, on Thursday night, was just the beginning of a spirit-filled night.
According to Mario Ramirez, assistant director of student development and orientation, 600 torches were handed out to be carried in the parade, which was more than what was handed out last year.
Hanna Heuring, mass communication junior and cheerleader, said, “I was at the site of the bonfire during the torchlight parade. I could see a sea of torches through the Jesse Rogers Promenade and it just kept going and going. It was really cool, even from that distance.”
The parade marched down Comanche Trail to Council Drive, and down Council to the parking lot, beside the free play field, where the bonfire would be held.
Heuring said, “The bonfire was exhilarating. I was asked to emcee along with Charles Frazier so I was a little nervous to speak in front of such a large crowd. This was the first time I hadn’t been a part of the audience as a spectator, so seeing the crowd from the stage was incredible. The crowd was very excited to see the lip sync performances and team speeches. They really seemed to enjoy the experience!”
After the lip sync finals and the teams had made their speeches on stage, the bonfire was lit, burning the shirts representing opposing conference teams.
Ramirez said, “The purpose is showing spirit, saying, ‘we defeated them,’ or that MSU is the best.”
Bill Maskill, head football coach, loves this tradition. He said the support from the crowd is energizing for the football team.
Maskill said, “I know we’ve got other sports, and they are important, but it’s really centered around the football team.”
Heuring enjoyed seeing the community come together to support the university as well.
“It is really great to see not only the students, but the faculty, administration, and community come together. You really feel the spirit of the campus at an event like the bonfire. It’s a good feeling knowing that such a large amount of people have pride in our university,” Heuring said.
Behind the scenes
The torchlight parade and bonfire were challenging tasks to execute, according to Ramirez.
Ramirez said, “We actually had 900 torches, but we only got the chance to fill 600.”
Matthew Chisholm, student transition programs coordinator, said only 15 people helped to fill the torches on the day of.
“It was brutal,” Chisholm said.
Ramirez said successfully putting together these two events required coordination with many people.
“There are so many pieces to the puzzle. Working with the fire marshal, with facilities, with set-up crew, with athletics, with all the coaches, making sure they were going to be there,” Ramirez said.
The bonfire pile consisted of 100 pallets, and 700 shirts for burning were exchanged for bonfire T-shirts. But not all of the shirts are burned.
“We don’t burn all of them. We will definitely donate the rest of them, but we pull out the ones from our conference, from football, volleyball, basketball, soccer, all of our sports. We make sure to take all of those out and put them in the bonfire,” Ramirez said.
The challenges were worth it in the end, according to Ramirez.
Ramirez said, “It was rewarding to see it finally happen. The final product was definitely worth it.”
