With the fall sports in full blast for the 2019 season, Fan Man Howie Gerstner and Mermaid Leya Abujamra are destined to bring the fighting spirit to different events.

The two are not only the leaders in the stands, but also have active roles in Student Government as members of the Executive Board. 

“I think a common misconception is that most people think it’s just showing up to games, but we have an obligation to the greater body of Student Government and to represent the school,” said Gerstner.

One of the more entertaining, anticipated moments of being Fan Man and Mermaid are the Friday raps, presented at the  culmination of announcements during the football season.

“Tommy (Tressler) and I spend about an hour and a half on the raps every week,” said Gerstner.

Videos of the raps are posted weekly on the Online Tritonian.

Gerstner and Abujamra, in a combined effort, decide on the themes of the football games using an Instagram poll.

There are some ups and downs, challenges, with having to represent at every sport.

“One of the downsides to being Mermaid is having to make the difficult choices of which events to attend over others,” said Abujamra.

But, as Abujamra notes, the good definitely outweighs the bad.

“I love being involved in Student Government and being able to see everyone come together to support our classmates,” said Abujamra.

With all this responsibility on the shoulders of the Fan Man and Mermaid, it might be hard to understand why someone would decide to sign up for this in the first place, but not for Gerstner.

“I believe that my experience in Student Government and personality drives me to do the best job I can. I love being hyped and seeing other people hyped,” said Gerstner.