Hip, Hip, Hooray

Football season is here. You may be cheering, “Three cheers for my team—hip, hip, hooray.”

Coach George Allen often led a chant, "Three Cheers for the Redskins—hip hip hooray” in the locker room after wins. He introduced the phrase to the Redskins football team in the early 1970’s.  With Allen's painstaking attention to detail and enthusiastic approach, Washington's teams were known for their spirited play and camaraderie. This has since caught on and become somewhat of a tradition among Redskin fans and players, led by the cheering squad.

Cheerleaders encourage players and fans. In the newspaper, I read that a local cheerleading squad was collecting glass, plastic and cans. Instead of taking our recycle to the typical facility, I decided to give it to the cheerleading squad.

When I arrived, the cheerleaders were unpacking boxes, setting up tables for the yard sale and collecting recycle materials. The squad’s advisor told me that their school has a self-supported cheerleading program. They have already raised enough money to pay the coach’s salary. However, the program still needs tumbling mats. They share the pads with the wrestling team and are not available when they need them. So, between the recycle collection, a yard sale and other fundraisers, the squad hopes to raise enough money to buy mats.

It felt good to support a program that is inspiring students to learn a good work ethic through working hard to get something that is important to their team. Hip, hip, hooray for the cheerleaders. May their team win!

In Giving and Recycling,

Robin