Gaither Gymnasium was filled with school spirit as the freshman class prepared for homecoming.
On Thursday, the Florida A&M athletics marketing and promotion department put together Pit Pandemonium, the pep rally for homecoming.
Brandan Williams,marketing coordinator for athletic department, hosted the rally. He said the its purpose was to give the freshman class an idea of what to expect during homecoming.
“We were pretty much grooming the baby Rattlers on basketball athletic event etiquette,” Williams said. “We tried to keep the crowd hyped and keep the crowd pumped.”
Students slowly filled gymnasium seats while Dj Loosekid played songs to pump up the audience. Once the Rattlers started dancing, it was hard for them to stop.
The Rattlers’ cheerleaders passed out T-shirts to the loudest students in the crowd. They also did cheers, chants and flips to get the crowd engaged.
The freshman class was able to learn the different strolls and dances, including FAMU’s traditional dance and “The Earthquake.”
This year’s basketball team was also introduced. The players danced in the middle of the gym and played basketball with the Venom Kids Club, allowing the children to shoot on a mini basketball hoop and stand.
The championship dance team, House Arrest 2, got the audience’s attention with its school-spirited outfits and crazy dance moves.
Mariam Itani, a first-year pre-pharmacy student from Orlando, thought the event was fun.
“I didn’t really have a least favorite thing,” Itani said. “My favorite thing had to be the House Arrest 2 dancers. I look forward to seeing more of the dancers at homecoming.”
Casandra Walker, a first-year health care management student from Vallejo, Calif., said she feels even more excited for homecoming because of the pep rally.
“It was so much energy coming from the cheerleaders and dancers,” Walker said. “Everyone seemed so excited, which made me excited.”
Williams said the event was a great success.
“A lot of people were here,” he said. “We had a full stand. We had a lot of participation, fan engagement and crowd activities.”