Imagine if you will, students screaming, and chanting for our Trojanettes, witnessing a school coming together as one. It’s the last 10 seconds of the game, and senior Deanna Thomas has just stole the ball. She turns quickly and begins sprinting down the court while everyone is screaming. Thomas attempts to lay the ball in the hoop, watching it slowly circle around the rim. The crowd hushes in anticipation. Just as the buzzer sounds, the ball swishes through the hoop and the crowd goes wild. The GNA Jungle storms onto the court and celebrates with the team. Was this true? No, but it could be. For almost the past three decades the GNA Jungle has been a significant part of high school sports at Nanticoke.

In almost every country in the world, sports have become an important part of culture and society. Every night fans pack sports venues adorned in the team’s colors, ready to cheer on their team. Fans presence at the games have a great impact on the final outcome of the game. The team playing in their own arena is said to have “home court advantage” and fans have also been nicknamed the “6th man” in basketball. Similar to sports fanatics around the world, fans of the Greater Nanticoke Area Trojans and Trojanettes have been coming to support their teams for a very long time. Students make up a significant part of the attendance at games. The Class of 1988 came up with a name for the group of students at the games; they called themselves “The GNA Jungle.” The GNA Jungle gave our school “a sense of pride,” says former Nanticoke graduate Mr. Zubritski. Unfortunately, over the past three decades the enthusiasm and excitement of the Jungle has declined. Student attendance is lacking. Some students who do attend sit separately and not many are interested in cheering on their teams. To solve this problem, we need to come together as one to give our school the respect and support it deserves. So let’s not be divided by grades at games. We are the Trojans and we MUST come together and cheer on our students-athletes. We need our original school spirit back to its ORIGINAL GLORY!