It’s game day, and the stands of the competition gym are filled with eager attendees, excited for that night’s football game. But here, they aren’t waiting for the football team, they’re waiting for the Scotsmen.
“There’s a lot of pressure to do good at the pep rallies and [games],” Scotsman David Kozman said. “But it’s a lot of fun.”
The Scotsmen are the mascots and comedians of the school during their senior year, elected by the student body to foster school spirit.
But their job isn’t all about hyping people up for the football game. Every pep rally, the Scotsmen will also perform a unique skit, drawing laughter from the crowd every time.
“It’s not just the title of Scotsman that’s fun. It’s also being with the guys, collaborating and getting these skits down,” Scotsman Charlie Thomason said.
Being a Scotsman isn’t all fun and games. The process to become a Scotsman is highly competitive. It all starts at the end of their junior year, when up to twenty guys submit their own tryout videos in hopes of securing the spot for their senior year.
“It was kinda scary, the process to get elected,” Kozman said.
The first step in this rigorous process, the video, is designed to show off the comedic talent of a potential Scotsman. The videos are shown in front of the entire school, and people vote for their favorites, based on humor and production.
“You get to show it to the whole school, and present how you perceive school spirit, comedy, and [show] who you are as a person to everyone,” Scotsman Billy Shearer said.
In addition to the video, the potential Scotsmen have to give a speech in front of the school administrators on why they are a good candidate for the position.
“We had to stand in front of a room full of around 20 administrators, like Mr. Gilbert and Assistant Principal Gray, so it was really scary,” Kozman said.
Each Scotsman comes from a different background at the school, and some may seem surprised by who ended up being elected for the spot. Thomason, formerly a football player, decided he wanted something different toward the end of his junior year.
“I was on the football team up until my junior year and Scotsman just came as a decision I made during the second semester of junior year as something I wanted to do,” Thomason said.
Planning the skits is another responsibility that the Scotsmen have to perform.
“We have to incorporate the kids with skits,” Kozman said. “We do more games and our plan is to get the community more hyped.”
The Scotsmen’s main job is to lift school spirits in the gym during the pep rallies for the time that the school is together.
“We plan to come out every Friday with a good game and skit to keep the student body entertained for as long as we can,” Thomason said.
Standing in front of the whole student body may seem nerve-wracking to some but to the Scotsmen, their nerves do not stand a chance against them.
“I mean, the kids you see are kids that you grew up with, and most of the time I’m staring at seniors, and like I said, those are kids that I’ve known my entire life,” Shearer said.
Scotsmen have many qualities, but the most defining of these qualities is the joy of getting the opportunity to be in front of the student body showing how much they love the school.
“I really enjoy the experience and I’m always honored to be a Scotsman,” Thomason said.
Although the title Scotsman does have its own pressures, being a Scotsman is the highlight of the year for the seniors graced by the title.
“I guess the one thing you could take away is that being a Scotsman is so sick,” Kozman said. “It’s just a lot of fun seeing the student body.”
“So when you get the opportunity to put yourself out there… just be funny, be a Scotsman,” Shearer said.
