“So after assisting in rounding up Dick to be washed and being embarrassed more than once by his grimy looks, it’s no wonder if I like ’em clean at least. But I suppose I went through that time of hating to be washed myself.”
“I doubt it, Betty,” answered Carolyn. “I think you are always dainty, if you ask me.”
But now the time of the contest was at hand. More excitement and cheers called for the attention of the rooters to duty. They yelled for their own teams now, under the frantic leadership of active yell-leaders. The Lions’ little mascot, arrayed in his mask of a lion’s head and a suit as tawny as the coat of the biggest lion in the “Zoo,” ran up and down, waving large paws and trailing a long tasseled tail.
“Lions, rah!
Rah-rah-rah-rah, Lions!
Eeney, meeney, money mi,
Lions win when they half try--
Eeney meeney money mi,
Chew’em-up! Chew’em-up! Lions”
(Roar)
The influence of the living models at the Zoological Gardens, on whose fearsome roars many of these high school pupils had been, figuratively speaking, brought up, made this characteristic roar, with which many of Lyon High yells closed, very realistic. It had been with a mixture of startled surprise, amusement and admiration that Betty, Doris and Dick had first heard it that fall. But now even Amy Lou tried to imitate it.
“Hickity, rickity, spickity jig!
Zippity soom and lickity rig!
The Lions are loose,
Get out of the way!
They’ll romp to the finish.
And Capture the Day Gr-rr-rr--LIONS”
Another favorite yell was both prefaced and ended with a student roar from the Lyon High part of the stadium. It was short and vigorous:
“Lions! Lions!
And they’re not tame!
Go it, Lions,
And win that game!”
Some unexplained delay gave time for a brief rendering of a short high school song. “Make it peppy!” called the leader, “one stanza and a yell for the team!”
This closed the preliminaries and in a tense stillness on the part of the spectators the game began. From the first it was exciting, for the teams were well matched. “Now let the Lions Roar,” was balanced by “Now let the Eagles Scream,” in several good plays by each in the first quarter.