On Friday, the Highlanders kicked off homecoming with their annual pre-game pep rally to muster up some school spirit. Students and faculty were decked out in red, black, white, and silver to get in the mood for the varsity football game against Herndon High School at 7 p.m.

Sadly, spirit wear was not enough to get students in an enthusiastic state of mind, nor was the pep rally. McLeadership did not live up to the Highlander hype of previous years. Sacred McLean traditions, like the Angus v. rival mascot battle, were neglected because McLeadership deemed them “overused and boring.”

“It is something that has always been a source of entertainment over the last three years. It’s weird that they did not include it this year,” senior Michelle Ugarte Nunez said.

Instead of the legendary fight, Angus taught Officer Davis some new dance moves from the running man to the shoot to the whip and nae nae. However, one student on the dance team managed to break out some dance moves that no one else at McLean can top. Senior Chris Davis never missed a beat and performed his trademark break dancing move the “baby freeze,” shortly followed by an iconic death drop.

McLean managed to keep things musical with other activities such as Blindfolded Musical Chairs. Two students from each grade competed in numerous rapid, highly intense rounds, but only one victor could come out on top. After skillfully earning his way to the top, senior Connor Simon claimed his throne as the king of musical chairs.

“I think the best part of the pep rally was the games, especially blindfolded musical chairs and tug of war, because they were different from what we usually do and really entertaining to watch,” senior McLeadership member Jisolu Awe said.

Despite some highs and lows of the homecoming pep rally, McLeadership thoughtfully prepared McLean for weekend of spirited fun. That leaves the fate of homecoming hype in the hands of our lagging football team…