As the Chico State softball team fights in the NCAA Division II tournament, one thing that keeps the team strong is the chants the players use throughout the game.
The chants have come from all over, and although no one person created them, they are passed down through the years. According to senior Alli Cook, there are a lot of standard chants that every softball team knows, and if they want to create their own they take a popular song and put in softball terms and the players’ name.
When a player joins and they have a catchy name or nickname they try to create a chant that is unique to them.
“Most of the players do have their own. I don’t particularly have a certain chant special toward me other than the cheer about my number,” said first-year Ari Marsh.
In most teams you might think they have one girl dedicated to starting the chants, however for these women it is a team exercise. Whether on the field or in the dugout, the girls all start the chants and keep them going throughout each inning.
“The players who aren’t starting begin a lot of the cheers and that means a lot to the entire team,” Marsh said.
Showing unity within the team simply through their chants is one thing that these girls pride themselves on and believe is a reason they have done so well this season.
Most athletes have their favorite chant and for Marsh and Cook, they both relate to showing who they are as a team and all the hard work paying off.
“My favorite cheer is the team cheer we do before the game,” Marsh said. “All the girls huddle and we sway side to side chanting ‘Chico’ and then give a loud ‘AHHHHH CHICO HOOT.'”
“For me it ain’t no party like a Chico party because a Chico party don’t stop,” Cook said. “Because we have a sort of reputation for being that kind of school, we are changing it and relating it to softball, saying the party doesn’t stop until we say it does.”
All the chants are done throughout the entire game, but they use certain ones during key moments, home runs or other outstanding plays.
To hear all the chants just walk by the softball fields during any home game and you’ll hear the team spirit.
Esther Briggs can be reached at [email protected] or @EstherBriggs191 on Twitter.
