On homecoming morning the FC student body rallied together at 5:30 a.m. to hold a Spirit Assembly, Oct. 26. This event was covered by Channel ABC30’s Amanda Venegas and aired off and on between 6:10 a.m. and 6:45 a.m..

Venegas interviewed senior McKay Mohun to get an idea of what the football team was feeling as they prepared for the homecoming game against the Immanuel Eagles. Mohun looked forward to the game and was excited to be at FC for homecoming, especially since most of FC’s football games have taken them far from home.

“I’m really excited because it’s homecoming,” Mohun said. “We’ve been all over California this season, and to be able to bring everybody in for all the excitement really creates this special atmosphere.”

Jimmy Chang, ’14, was a little tired due to coming to school much earlier than usual, but he also enjoyed the event and was glad for an opportunity to support the football team and the school.

“I feel really bad about waking up early actually,” Chang said. “I stayed up really late doing homework and got three hours of sleep, so it’s not too fun but it’s exciting to cheer for our school. I’m looking forward to seeing how everything turns out tonight.”

FC’s marching and jazz bands used the time between camera shots to practice for the night’s game. ABC30 showed their performances of their typical football game songs such as the “Grand Entry Swing March” and the FC fight song.

The colorguard and cheerleading squad also performed to the band’s songs in preparation for the game and to show viewers the talent exercised at FC for special events such as homecoming.

Junior high cheerleader Claire Winans, ’17, came to support the school for ABC30 and to share in the excitement of Spirit Day and homecoming with her peers and teachers.

“First of all, my coach told me to be here, but I thought it would be nice to come anyway to support our school,” Winans said. “I was excited, and I woke up really early. I think it’s cool to represent your school.”

Channel ABC30 does a segment every week called “Friday Morning Football” which showcases different high school football programs all over the Central Valley. Venegas enjoys her part in the show because of the opportunity it gives her to see school spirit from various high school student bodies.

“We do this every week so that people all across the valley get a chance to see what high school teams there really are,” Venegas said. “It gives everyone a chance to showcase their school spirit and their team, which is awesome! It’s also a great feel-good segment.”

Venegas has enjoyed the chance to watch how high schools have changed since she was a student. As a reporter, she has been able to recount her high school days as she has attended and covered Friday morning high school rallies.

“My favorite part about doing this is that I grew up here in the Valley so I know a lot of the teams,” Venegas said. “They all have different spirit, and this is one of the best times in high school, seeing all of the games, and you remember all of this. It’s almost like reliving your high school experience.”

FC’s response to the student rally surprised Venegas. She was impressed by the number of people who showed up and by the excitement they exhibited for their school and football team.

“I already knew about the school and I had some friends that went here in high school,” Venegas said. “I knew everybody was very hospitable and very kind, but I didn’t expect you guys to be as loud as you were. Everyone asked me, ‘What high school are you at? It sounds like there are 1,000 kids there.'”

Many of FC’s students were excited to attend the rally, but others like freshman Josh Carter regretted their decision to come to school at such an early time of day. Although he cared little about school Spirit Day and he certainly was not happy about getting up and coming to school at 5:30 in the morning, he decided to come to escape his schoolwork for a couple of hours.

“I came here because I wanted a homework fast,” Carter said. “I’m not really that excited about Spirit Day because in elementary school we did spirit wear days every Friday. This morning I was thinking, ‘Oh, it’s happening again.’ I woke up and I didn’t want to be awake.”

Principal Todd Bennett was surprised at the turnout and excited to see that the students cared about school spirit. He hopes that this event will be a memorable one for students and everyone who attended.

“It’s always fun to have everybody get up early and come together for something special like this,” Bennett said. “It’s something that kids will remember for a long time, being on TV. It’s also important that people in the community to know about Fresno Christian, and this is free advertising.”

For more news, read the Oct. 26 article, Halloween attractions available throughout Fresno.