Last Friday, February 4th, students gathered at the stadium for the annual winter sports rally. After the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, it was not a shock that the event was Marvel-themed. 

As this marked the third outdoor rally of the year, varsity student-athletes that participated in basketball, soccer, wrestling, competitive cheer, and girls water polo were all recognized in front of the crowd. Performing arts students were also called to receive their certifications for best attitudes, students of the month, and various other awards in return for a patch. 

While this was the first rally completely run by the class of 2023, the juniors set a high standard for the rest of the rallies to come. Complete with life-size figurines of the notorious Spiderman and Hulk, USB still faced some struggles along the way. 

“We actually changed ideas very last minute, so the backdrop took us 3 days instead of the normal 3 weeks,” creative design commissioner Rylie Vipatapalin said. 

While the backdrop still remained flawless, there were audio problems that made it difficult for students to hear who was being recognized. Other than these small inconveniences that will be fixed before the next rally, USB was able to create a memorable experience for the students involved. 

Competing in the class competitions never fails to give any of its participants a “big adrenaline rush.” 

“I was very nervous to compete and embarrass myself but it ended up being not bad at all and was a pretty cool experience,” junior Christopher Sydnor said. 

Two competitions were set for students of each class. In the first event, those who were part of the game tried to throw frisbees into the opponent’s goal while teachers attempted to deflect them on both sides. Whoever got the most frisbees in each goal at the end of the time limit won; however, if a student were to score by throwing Captain America’s Shield into the goal, they automatically became victorious. 

For the second game, students were blindfolded and spun in a circle before they were led by teachers to pin the balloon on Iron Man’s hand, all in accordance to their class colors. Compared to previous years, the engagement levels during the rally games have significantly increased. 

“The rally games were fun and took creativity within them in itself to put on for the classes,” class competitions commissioner Jordan Vega said. “The ideas for class competitions honestly come from student feedback, creative thinking, and the ability to project the idea and follow through and change it as it goes.”

Students at the rally have always had the opportunity to perform dances in front of the school in another class competition. However, as many choose to stray away from this activity, one student continually shows up ready to impress the crowd. 

Senior Lyle Tiu was inspired to dance to the music of the movie Shang Chi, further incorporating the Marvel theme into the rally.

“I thought it would be fitting to bring out the Asian martial arts as a theme for dance,” Tiu said. “All the songs I use come from aspects of my culture, and it’s a way for me to showcase that culture to other people.” 

His eccentric dancing style has never failed to hype the crowd up, especially when most of his performance was freestyle. 

“I feel that the energy of the crowd helps to motivate and adapt the dance itself. It’s really rewarding to know that the music you’re passionate about is able to be heard by everyone, and that you have the chance to perform with everyone watching.” 

While the rally remains exciting for everyone involved, leadership has become aware that for those in the crowd, it may seem quite boring. But fear not, these commissioners are doing everything they can to improve the quality of the rallies for everyone, including the audience. 

There are multiple ideas that have surfaced, like throwing beach balls around in the crowd, but plans like these have been denied by the District. 

USB hopes they can soon get “people dressing up and walking through bleachers, people waving pom-poms, crowd incorporation, something to include the students in the crowd,” Vega said.