One of the best things about Apex High School is that its students are so supportive of all the AHS sports teams. For many years now, a big source of this support and enthusiasm has come from the Cougar Crazies. The Cougar Crazies are students who lead the student section at games, promoting school spirit and creating a great atmosphere; however, they do more than just show up to the student section and cheer. They also meet with both the AD and administration to host themes and fun events. They even paint the AHS rock and post information on Instagram. Our 2022-33 Cougar Crazies leaders are pumped for this year’s games and have some words they would like to share with the AHS students.

Taron Brown, one of the fearless Cougar Crazies leaders, is a senior at Apex this year. Taron’s goal for the Cougar Crazies this year is to “get the games hype for sports this year.” His favorite cheer to go is the “goodbye” chant after winning a game. So far this year, Taron would rate the student section a 7/10 because “not everyone cheers.” Taron stated that of all the games, the second football game at Fuquay had the most energy from the students, and he would like to see that spirit again. “People can show their school spirit by coming out to games and cheering for the teams,” Taron explained. “Come out to any games you can and get loud.”

Just like Taron, AHS senior Abby Sudlow is a Cougar Crazies leader. Abby enjoys leading the Cougar Crazies because she enjoys “being able to hype everyone up.” She further explained,  “I also love being able to make posts for the Cougar Crazies Instagram and being able to use Instagram to inform everyone about what’s going on with our school.” Abby’s favorite cheer to do is “I believe” because “it means that we won. Everyone is so hype that we won and is so proud of how our football team played.” So far this year, Abby would rate the student section a 6/10 because “everyone is not giving it their all. But, we are working on it, and hopefully it will get better.” Out of all the games, Abby thinks the USA game had the most energy from the students because “everyone was dressed amazing, and the energy was great, especially because it was the first home game.” Abby stated that her goal for the Cougar Crazies this year is to make sure that everyone is enjoying being a part of the student section and “to show our love and support to as many Apex sports as we can.” Abby explained that people can show their school spirit by “dressing in the appropriate attire for the game like dressing in blackout gear if it’s blackout.” 

To encourage AHS students, Abby beautifully stated, “Enjoy games while you can. I know that you may be upset that you’re not in the front, and you’re smooshed next to random people, and your legs are tired, but you only get four  years here so enjoy while you can because it goes by so fast! CHEER! You’re not too cool to cheer. It’s so much fun, and it’s something that everyone can be a part of. Go to different sports events other than football to support our cougars in other sports. Overall just try and have fun and go to events because even though you may not want to at the moment, you may regret not going later.”

Kyle Norman, another AHS senior, is also one of the Cougar Crazy leaders this school year. Kyle enjoys leading the Cougar Crazies because he enjoys “getting the crowd hype.” His favorite cheer to do is “We are the cougars, the mighty mighty cougars (X2) GO APEX GO APEX GO.” Kyle would rate this year’s student section a 7/10, and he believes that the game with the most student energy was the Harnett Central game. Kyle’s goal for the Cougar Crazies this year is to “have every game as deep as possible and the crowds nice and loud.” Students can show their school spirit by “following the theme, getting hype, and staying hype.” To students with no school spirit, Kyle would say, “There’s so many reasons to be proud and happy to attend Apex! Show your love and support.”

To ensure that the student section is fun and organized, the Cougar Crazy leaders shared some basic rules to follow in the student section. “Don’t crowd the front row and no jeering at players. Seniors sit in the first three-four rows. Everyone else, you will get your chance; just wait and let the seniors enjoy their last year here! If you’re not dressed in the theme, move to the back please! Clean up your trash! Get loud and cheer! You’re not too cool to not cheer. You’re in high school, and you are gonna hate yourself if you do not cheer!”

The Cougar Crazies leaders are pumped for this year’s games and cannot wait to see all of the student section spirit. Students can stay up to date on all things Cougar Crazies by checking the Cougar Crazies Instagram and Twitter, which is cougar23crazies. They also announce the themes on the morning announcements.