Top 5 Fan Bases of BC High School Basketball

They come in large crowds with plastic vuvuzelas, giant Culligan water bottles, wooden spoons, and a whole lot of face paint. They’re fierce. They scream in your ears. And they may even sweat it all out in a giant mascot costume for the entire game.

They are the fans and they show as much devotion to their team as a soccer club fan base straight outta Manchester.

We reminisced about the adoring fans from this past season and compiled a list that would surely collapse a building if they were all in a gym together at the same time.

Here’s to looking at you, fans.

# 5 – Tamanawis Wildcats

We’ll cut to the chase. The Wildcats made this list thanks to one epic night at the Fraser Valley finals against the next fan base on this list.

Some may say they were the most annoying fans from this past season (somehow beating out the Mouat girls…just kidding); however, these dudes showed more passion than Michael Jordan on the court. For real.

They came with drums and a lot of heart to cheer on Miguel Tomley and the Wildcats. And thankfully, their crazy chants and loud hollers paid off: Tami ended up taking home the tourney gold with a final score of 87-85.

Can we credit the crazed fans for their efforts against the Hawks’ fangirls? Maybe. Or maybe Tomley went off with 44 points plus, as per usual.

You make the call.

# 4 – W.J. Mouat Hawks

“Mo-what? MOUAT!”

Okay, this chant absolutely got stuck in our heads. And the group of insanely loud girls—most of which play for the senior girl’s Hawks—left us wondering if we’d ever be able to hear again.

The moral of this story? These fans had pipes.

And to be honest, they seemed to intimidate their rival fans wherever they went. The fans may not have been as hardcore during Provincials, but remember the Fraser Valley finals against Tamanawis? Those gnarly Hawks’ fans lit the roof on fire and had the whole gym pulsing with excitement.

You would have thought it was the NBA finals.

# 3 – Walnut Grove Gators

“GATOR NATION!”

Need we say more?

Alright, the Gator fans consistently held down the bleachers throughout the season, but it was the Provincials that put these reptiles on our list. Grove’s fans showed up decked in all green everything, including a badass alligator mascot, too.

Since both the girl and boy’s Walnut Grove teams clinched a spot in the tournament, fans flocked to the Langley Events Centre for the entire two weeks. And if you were at any of the games—especially the girl’s 3A final—that “Gator Nation” chant definitely escaped your mouth a time or two.

It’s easy to cheer for both squads with star players like the Wisotzki sisters on the girl’s side and the 2018 All-Star Dunk Contest winner James Woods.

Side note: have you seen that guy dunk?! Check it:

Of course, it doesn’t hurt to have home-court advantage, as well. We will for sure being seeing these Gators later (aka next season).

# 2 – G.W. Graham Grizzlies

They were the little team that could. And honestly, the fans of G.W. Graham inspired us all to cheer for the roaring Grizzlies.

Scratch the word dedication from your vocab and replace it with G.W. Graham fans.

Each and every game during Provincials, the fans poured in with any utensil and pot they could salvage from their mama’s cupboards to create an atmosphere unlike anything we’ve seen on the 2A girl’s side.

Grizzly the mascot was worn by more than one fan—even a tiny toddler who decided to show the world just who he was cheering for, too.

Again, if you weren’t a fan of G.W. Graham before Provies, you may have changed your mind after stepping onto the South Court to hear nearly half the bleachers growling for the Grizzlies.

Aside from the noise, the Grizzly mascot had dance moves just like Justin Timberlake.

#1 – Vancouver College Fighting Irish

It’s a no brainer why the VC Irish fans made it onto our list. They easily had the biggest fan base that even broke eardrums at the Lower Mainland finals against the St. George’s Saints. The fans live and breathe VC basketball. Don’t believe us? Check them out:

Throughout the 2017/2018 high school basketball season, VC fans showed up to every game. Sadly, the team didn’t make it as far as they would have liked during their provincial run, which definitely affected the size of the crowd. However, we give props to the fans for showing us what true fandom really looks like.

Yeah, we picked our own top five. But! If you think we missed a team that has nuttier fans than these, drop us a comment below or tag us in some insane fan-made videos.

Fans, we salute you.

Thank you for your undeniable dedication to the sport we all love and hopefully we’ll see (and hear) you next season!

PS - Have you had a chance to vote for the Top Players and Teams of 2018? We created a survey for the fans and players to choose their favourites, starting with the boy’s side. If you haven’t cast your vote, you’re in luck! We’ve extended our deadline for submissions until Friday, May 18th at 5pm.

Click the following link to submit your responses:

https://goo.gl/forms/CuZFC9m3bxvuDm2x2

Written by: Crystal Scuor