THE FUTURE OF THE STUDENT SECTION

Just two years ago, fans were prohibited from attending Messiah athletic events in-person due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, in 2023, some fans show up to games in milk carton costumes.

How the times have changed.

The herd of about 15 carton-clad fans prefers to be referred to as The Calcium Cartel or Milk Mafia, as their Instagram account indicates. But how does a group like this come to be, and why dress as milk cartons? There wasn’t much thought to it, according to first-year Jamie Ogburn.

“We thought it would be really funny to have opposing teams come [to Messiah] and see milk cartons in the student section,” Ogburn said. “It would be intimidating in a really stupid way.”

The crew’s presence combined with their antics add to their effectiveness, says first-year Brent White.

“We don’t say anything vulgar or disrespectful, it’s all in good fun,” White said. “The goal is to get in [opponents’] heads - as soon as they acknowledge us, it’s over.”

Shortly after buying the milk costumes on Amazon, the crew began to make their appearances at Messiah basketball games late this past season, prompting entertained, yet confused reactions from spectators, athletes, and administrators.

Brooke Good, Messiah Athletics’ associate athletic director as well as head coach of the field hockey team, was initially skeptical of the dairy-dressed crew, but her concerns soon turned to optimism.

“It started from a place of ‘Who are these kids?’ and ‘Please let them not be a problem,’” Good said. “They checked all the boxes; they’re going to be loud, they’re going to bring the energy, and they’re committed.”

The Calcium Cartel themselves had concerns at the beginning as well, especially being all first-year students. One member of the crew, sophomore Alex Mihalenko, recounts the group’s worries on day one.

“Walking in [to Hitchcock Arena] the first time, we were like ok, either no one is ever going to talk to us again, or people are going to like us,” Mihalenko said. “We have to bring the energy, we have to own it.”

Own it they did, and soon after they began making appearances, a wide range of supporters, from local high school students to Kim Phipps, have cheered on Messiah’s teams along with the cartons.

“I’m very encouraged that we’ve been taken to with a positive attitude,” said sophomore Christian Locy, another member of the Calcium Cartel. “Kim Phipps came over and talked to us and told us she loved what we were doing…that motivated all of us to keep it going.”

“It’s the ultimate seal of approval,” Ogburn said of Phipps’ support. “We can’t stop now.”

The support helps, but that’s not the main goal of the Calcium Cartel. Locy and the group noticed a need for a more intense student section at Messiah sporting events.

“We’re all first-years, so we’re new to the Messiah sports scene, but we noticed the student sections weren’t totally amazing,” Locy said. “So we figured we’d try to fix it.”

The current Calcium Cartel is all part of the same friend group, but the goal is to expand the group beyond themselves.

“Right now we’re focused on the ground layer, and hopefully this will inspire more people to join in and make it a tradition,” White said. “If we can get a whole section of milk cartons heckling the opposing team, that would be amazing.”

The arrival of the Calcium Cartel is a timely one according to Brooke Good, as the athletic department has been in talks about building up student support at sporting events.

“It was perfect timing because within athletics we’d love to build a student section; something that’s robust, has leadership, that would travel well and be present,” Good said. “It gives our students something to be a part of, something to belong to, and to cheer on our student athletes.

The Calcium Cartel’s influence has already been proven to go beyond just the Messiah student body too. The first non-student fan wearing a milk costume showed up at Hitchcock Arena for the women’s basketball NCAA tournament games in March while the main student group was away on spring break.

“There was one member, I guess, of the Calcium Cartel in the stands - a young community member, maybe ten [years old],” Good said. “He was so pumped to be there… the influence that these young men have had just by coming to those basketball games was really really cool to see.”

While calcium is most notable for building strong bones, the Calcium Cartel wants to build strong traditions in Messiah athleticsones that outlast their time here as students.

“If we can get it to a point where when we’re gone, people are still doing this, we want to build a tradition,” Locy said. “We want to build a noteworthy student section for Messiah… and build the experience for everybody else.”