Michael Prothe, senior basketball player, said the Rat Pack adds to the atmosphere of a high school game and makes it more interesting.
Whether you’re sitting in the stands or playing the game it’s hard to miss them. They’re loud, they’re intimidating and their goal is to show spirit. They’re the Rat Pack.
Prothe, who is also a Rat Pack member, said the Rat Pack is not distracting to Paola players, but he said it’s definitely distracting to the other teams. An athlete from Baldwin High School agrees.
Kyle Pattrick, senior football and basketball player at Baldwin High School, said he doesn’t get distracted much, but his teammates do.
“It’s more distracting playing basketball with the Rat Pack there than it is while playing football,” said Pattrick. “They are closer to the court, so it’s easier to hear.”
Pattrick didn’t know what the Rat Pack was until it was explained to him. He said he liked the idea of the Rat Pack and the fact that if brings more people to the games.
The influence of the Rat Pack has on players depends on the person.
Sophomore Amie Schroeder said athletes play with more intensity when the Rat Pack is there.
Mike Dumpert, football coach, said the Rat Pack has no effect on how the players play.
“Our players could play in the middle of nowhere, on a street with no one cheering for them, and still play as great as they do,” Dumpert said.
When the Rat Pack first started, it coined a phrase called “get stupefied.” Get stupefied means get crazy, said junior Dalton Jorgensen. He said this phrase has been lost, but they hope to bring it back next year.