It only takes a spark to start a fire, and it only takes a room full of freshmen guys to start the “Armstrong Elite.”
The Armstrong Elite is an intramural volleyball team comprised of eight freshmen who live in Armstrong Hall. According to freshman Trey Davis, the idea to form a team happened by chance.
“Armstrong Elite is an idea that started just in a room of guys,” Davis said. “We were sitting in Armstrong just hanging out, and we decided that we all wanted to play intramural volleyball. We started brainstorming and we knew that second floor Armstrong is crazy. And we were like ‘I bet we could get those guys to come and dress up.’ From there we invited everyone in Armstrong and even our dorm parents and their kids.”
Freshman Curt Baker said he was still surprised when close to 60 people showed up for the first game.
“We dressed up in stupid, crazy costumes and brought a ridiculous boom box and played super awesome music,” Baker said. “We didn’t even anticipate having anybody but Armstrong people there, and it just kind of exploded.”
Since the first game, the crowd has gotten larger, louder and more coordinated. According to freshman Josiah Abney, the fans have regular chants and a different theme for every game, such as black out, American, or tropical.
“It just kind of happens,” Abney said. “We work as a collective unit. We all sit around, someone will suggest a theme, we’ll agree and then it just goes. Mostly it’s word of mouth. People start Snapchatting it and it really spreads quickly.”
The Armstrong Elite has not won many games, but according to Davis, that is not the point.
“(Having so many fans) helps a lot for our true goal,” Davis said. “Our true goal isn’t to win, but to bring our freshman class closer. That’s where the true purpose behind this began. We really wanted to develop a community, a tight-knit group of guys in Armstrong, but really it’s morphed into a tight thing for us as freshmen to all bond together. So almost every time we have a game it’s like a freshman function. After the games we all just sit and talk and hang out. In that regard, it’s exactly what we wanted.”
The Armstrong Elite has given many members of this year’s freshmen class a chance to grow closer, and Baker said he hopes the class will continue to find ways to bond.
“I want to see this kind of thing happen again, to see our class get together and be silly and be crazy and have fun together,” Baker said. “I’ve wondered if, as we join clubs and get deeper into school, we’ll slowly start to fragment off into our own groups. It’s been super valuable our freshman year to have people to hang out with and be crazy with. I really hope that something of this nature continues on and that we can do stuff together as a class for the next four years.”
The Armstrong Elite team is currently 4-3 in its season.
