Last pep rally, the Skull Island club made its first public appearance since its recent formation by the club founders George Lannan (12), Micha Lovelace (12), and Gabriel Chira (12). While it’s unknown by many students, this isn’t the first club of Wylie High focused on increasing school spirit, that club was formerly known as the Maroon Platoon.
“We do know about the Maroon Platoon. We know it was another student section club from a couple of years ago , but I don’t think it’s been active in the last couple of years” said Lovelace. “Skull Island is more up to date and diverse. It wants to make sure that there is support for ALL sports and activities, from basketball to E sports.”
The Skull Island club was formed to increase school spirit during events, such as sports games and pep rallies, the same reason Maroon Platoon was started all those years ago. One way they’ve reached out to the student body, to create a more aware environment, is through their social media account.
The last post from the Maroon Platoon instagram is from September 13, 2022 asking students to come to the Crosstown Showdown volleyball game with the theme “maroon out.” The account has acquired 215 followers within a year of posting, but the Skull Island instagram has reached up to 474 followers in the last 2-3 weeks.
“I personally don’t know much about the Maroon Platoon, but I’ve been interested in the Skull Island club because of my history in AV and recording student sections and such”, said Lincoln Perez (12)
In the front of the student section, the crowd is full of Skull Island members keeping the crowd hyped up as the game progresses, win or lose. In the past couple of weeks, Skull Island co-founder and former Pete the Pirate, George Lannan, has been teaming up with the social side of the student council, and making TikToks with the flag won by him during the first pep rally. They’ve also been posting updates on school spirit days and pictures from the student section.
At the end of the day, both clubs served their purpose and did it well. The Maroon Platoon was successful, but all things must come to an end. Skull Island is just doing its purpose in an updated fashion, bringing spirit to a school that’s been needing it for years. While Maroon Platoon is missed, Skull Island is carrying on its legacy.