‘Here we go Mercer Here we go’ is a chant often heard from the student section on game days. The voices behind this chant are known as the Mercer Maniacs.
The Maniacs attend all home football and basketball games, as well as some away games via bus trips, and can be seen ‘painting up’ at these games. When painting up, participants paint the top half of their body with letters that spell out a phrase, often ‘GO BEARS.’ For football games painting up occurs during the tailgate on Black Field.
The Mercer Maniacs is a student organization, originally known as the Hoffman’s Hooligans, that helps students engage with sports. Founded in 2012, the organization has been the backbone of student involvement on game days. They seek to increase school spirit through the energy brought on game days as well as giveaways.
Mercer Maniacs President Jackie Mendez says “our purpose is to encourage students to come out to sports games and to show school spirit.”
For big games such as Homecoming or home openers, the sense of community that is brought out by engagement with the Maniacs creates a higher energy in the student section.
The Maniacs lead the student section in chants and cheers throughout the game. The yell leader starts chants for the student section to then respond to. Keeping the crowd energy up and engaged is the goal of the yell leader.
“It is just a fun way to get people involved in the student section,” Mendez says.
After joining the Maniacs her sophomore year in a marketing position, Mendez says that the group has grown in its connection to Mercer’s students.
“It means a lot to be a Maniac. Seeing the student section at football games makes all the work we put into it worth it. We get so hyped and excited on game days, and I feel like I’ve grown in my ways being a Maniac,” Mendez says.
The importance of the Maniacs being at the games is “to hype up the students’ section and make people feel like they have a place at the game,” Mendez says.
Along with giveaways that take place during halftime, the Maniacs often throw shirts to the crowd during the games.
To join new members are always welcome to participate in game day rituals, such as painting up, as well as attend monthly meetings.
