The crowd leaps up and cheers as the varsity boys’ basketball team scores another basket. Yet one part of the crowd is more enthusiastic than the others. They are known as the "6th Man."

Wearing their official "6th Man" shirts, members are often those with the most school spirit at the basketball games.

Junior Meghan Vinograd borrowed the idea of the "6th Man" from Stanford University’s men’s basketball fans.

“I have been going to Stanford games since before I can remember,” said Vinograd. “And it has always been an important part of my life.”

Seeing the "6th Man" members of Stanford inspired Vinograd to start a similar organization at Paly.

“When I go [to Stanford games], I see the ‘6th Men’ so unified and acting as such a force against the opposing team," Vinograd said. "Naturally we can’t get away with some of the more vulgar cheers here at Paly, so the shirts are a great way to recognize our unity.”

But don’t be fooled into thinking that “6th Man” is a whole new club.

“I wouldn’t consider ‘6th man’ a club in any capacity; this is a misnomer,” Vinograd said. “‘6th Man’ is merely an organization of students who wear the ‘6th Man’ shirts.”

According to Vinograd, the idea was formally organized by the Spirit Club. The "6th Man" shirts mainly serve as a way to unify fans of the basketball team who have lots of school spirit.

“We [the Spirit Club] were looking for a way to unify students and the idea of ‘6th Man’ shirts came to me," Vinograd said. "Wearing something is an easy way to show support, especially because the shirts are inexpensive. Much like Uggs or Livestrong bands, the shirts seem to have become a sort of fad around the Paly campus.”

Not only do the shirts unify and affect the fans cheering in the stands, but they also give the players themselves a boost when they are down, knowing that their ‘6th Man’ fans are always cheering for them.

"They [The 6th Men] are something we needed," Steven Brown said. "It’s just a good feeling to know that we have [them]."

“When we fans act as a unit, the opposing team and their fans feel more of an effect," Vinograd said.

Brown also agrees that the "6th Man" t-shirts have an affect on the other team.

"The 6th Men give us an extra boost on the court and it can really
disrupt the other team mentally," Brown said. "[The 6th men] bring a lot of chemistry to each Paly student at the games and it can be a great atmosphere."

The shirts also serve the purpose of giving students time to relax and sit back as they come together to enjoy a game and show support.

"I think that through sporting events, Paly students can come together," Vinograd said. "When we are all losing our voices cheering for [senior forward] Steven Brown to hit a three or for [senior guard] Jeremy Lin to drive to the basket, we can forget the pressures of high school life, even if it is only for a few hours each week.”

So not only are the shirts a way for hardcore fans to show their
support for the varsity boys basketball team and unite, but they also stand for the purpose of giving students time to relax, sit back and enjoy the game.

“The social divisions we experience from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. melt way to some extent through these sporting events,” Vinograd said. “If the ‘6th Man’ shirts help with this, I think I have reached my goal for what I wanted these shirts to do.”