“Friday Night Lights at M-A sells itself,” 12th Man founder Jordan Long said. Since its inception in 2013, the 12th Man has created a community for students to support the football team and show off their school spirit.
Many schools have leadership or other organizations decide themes for and bring hype to games, but M-A has 12th Man. While football teams are only allowed 11 players on the field, 12th Man is the honorary 12th player. Today, 12th Man is six members strong, but that number has ranged from four to 11.
12th Man is a group of spirited leaders who choose game themes, lead chants, and rally support for the football team. Through their energetic presence at games and constant posting on social media, 12th Man inspires community, school pride, and support every Friday night.
The tradition started with two seniors, Long and Nikhil Goyle, who wanted to improve spirit at football games. With sophomore Justin Verbo and junior Whit Jellins, they designed the first 12th Man T-shirt. They found 200 people willing to pay $10 for a shirt and told them to wear it to the first game of the season. They also created a Facebook page to announce the theme for the next game.
With permission from administration, the newly formed group also organized tailgates by the bear statue where they barbecued.
“The tailgates created a school community and an opportunity to hang out with people from my grade and other grades and made my high school football experience more fun,” Long said.
After Long and Goyle graduated in 2014, they selected Verbo, Jellins, and rising seniors Miles Evans and Ajay Shah for the next season. The new crew introduced new T-shirts and themes that kept school spirit alive. In 2015, 12th Man restricted the club to seniors.
From 2015 to 2018, attendance decreased at games, and a new era of 12th Man took it upon themselves to revive the school’s enthusiasm at games.
In 2018, the football team brought home the state championship. “Our idea of bringing back the rich history and reclaiming the fame was about establishing ourselves as the rowdiest 12th Man group in the Bay Area,” former member James Beckwith said. 2018’s eight members took this perspective to heart, bringing back old chants and themes and making their new motto “Reclaim the Fame.”
“We had the initiative and the drive to create a community. We committed to doing it in a fun, silly, and creative way,” former member Abbey Goudey said.
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, 12th Man did not back down. “When we called everyone and told them to show up, we’d get a great crowd all on-theme even though it was during the pandemic,” former member Max Coupe said.
This year’s 12th Man continues to bring energy to the stands. “Our goal is to elevate our students, and make the football games as fun as they can possibly be for everyone,” senior and member EB Hoffman said.
Over a decade after its founding, 12th Man is still connected to its history. “We all build off of each other. We took what we liked about the other 12th Man groups—specifically the chants and Instagram captions—and applied it this year,” senior and member Ruby Pence said.
