Colony Crazies

April 5, 2005

CASEY RESSLER/Valley Life editor

Sports has a way of making ordinary people do unusual things, from grown men throwing wedges of Swiss on their heads and calling themselves "Cheeseheads" in Green Bay to dressing up like pigs in dresses and calling themselves "The Hogs" in Washington, D.C.

When it comes to sports fans, there is no more passionate group, even at the high-school level. That kind of passion is why Colony sophomore Garrett Helf sat slumped in a chair at 1 a.m. Sunday, flecks falling from his pecs - following his school's loss to West in the state championship game. The game didn't end until 1 a.m., and Helf still had to wash off the green paint that coated his upper body in the early-morning hours.

Despite the late start and early-morning ending of the championship game, Helf and the Colony faithful were still in the stands, yelling and screaming minutes after the final buzzer sounded, ending the Knights' season with a loss. Colony's "Superfans" were out in full force Saturday - which actually stretched into Sunday - making the contest as much a community party as a basketball game.

Full-body suits consisting of green and black paint adorned several fans, while green hard hats seemed standard issue to others.

While some waved signs with messages, others wore messages as signs - T-shirts with handwritten slogans were as popular as placards in the sea of green and black behind the Colony bench.

"We're trying to bring the 'Cameron Crazies' to Colony," said senior Will Curtis, alluding to the passionate and heavily painted fans of Duke University, who stand and jump and shout from opening whistle to final buzzer at Cameron Indoor Stadium. "You gotta be loud. You gotta be loud."

Curtis is but one of several Colony students who make it to every game, dressed - or is it not dressed? - in body paint and a bright green wig. They show up at football games, at basketball games and just about everywhere else a Knight is in action - there's no limit to the Superfan Support Network, it seems. Throughout the last few years, the students have taken cheering to a new level.

"We do it every game," said Nathan Kowalczk, a sophomore at Colony. "You have to keep the tradition going."

Kowalczk is a basketball-only Superfan - he plays football in the fall, so it's up to others to root him on, he said.

Saturday, it was going to take a bit more than painted pecs and colored coifs for the Knights to win the state championship.

The West Anchorage Eagles took a commanding lead early in the game and never trailed, cruising to a 25-point victory and the state championships. The lopsided score didn't dampen the Colony fans' enthusiasm, as they screamed and yelled right until the end. During halftime of the boys' game, Colony's Kristen Robinson won the three-point shootout, and she received a standing ovation from the Colony Crazies. It was the brightest moment for the Knights on Saturday night, and the rowdy fans let her know how proud they were of the Knight.

Following the awards session, which lasted until 1 a.m., a bleary-eyed Helf said he was ready to get out of his painted suit, but that he'll probably do it again in the future.

"This is my first time coming to a game painted. I did it for state," Helf said. "I did it to support my school. It's starting to itch, though."