Go Gerald or go home

Whether our director, Willie Morris, is dancing with his light-up jacket or we’re playing “25 or 6 to 4” while wearing hats shaped like airplanes, we members of the Flyer Pep Band follow our motto of “Go crazy or go home.”

One crazy memory was the Dayton vs. Alabama State men’s basketball game in December 2021. UD was dominating, and the pep band was focused on one particular feature of the game: Gerald.

Gerald was a player for Alabama State, and the entire pep band collectively agreed to make everyone in the arena aware of his name by repeating “Gerald!” over and over.

Whenever Gerald got the ball, he was met with a roar of his own name from nearly 100 students with musical instruments and bright red shorts. I remember scanning the Arena to see how everyone in the pep band had smiles that were miles wide and how we filled the Arena with joy and energy.

Being part of that mob of “Gerald” yellers infused me with a certain pride. I realized that only in a group like the Flyer Pep Band could one find nearly 100 people gaining joy from yelling “Gerald” on an endless loop.

Whenever I hear the name Gerald, I still smile. 

Illustration by Ronald Acklin.

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