Surrounded by the fall, crisp air, the Friday game commotion fills the OHS stadium. The lights illuminate the crowds of students and staff that are dressed up to help cheer on the football team in hopes of a triumphant victory. Being immersed in the uproar, you can feel the energy of everyone coming together as the team scores. Confetti explodes into the golden atmosphere as the student section erupts and celebrates with the Tiger Cage who lead with excitement.

Tiger Cage is meant to bring everyone together inside and outside of school hours, planning all of the big and small details for each game. The primary leader for Tiger Cage this year is Lala Xolo Chigo (12), who shares her passion for the school through leadership. Within her years at OHS, she has always wanted to be a part of the spirit that Tiger Cage brings. 

“My interest in doing Tiger Cage was knowing that we didn’t have it go into this year, and I really wanted to be sure that we brought that excitement to all the games and really showed out and showed support for our football team,” Chigo said.

Many students have seen Tiger Cage lead the spirit and excitement at the games, but many are unsure of what members actually do.

“Tiger Cage was created as a way to really just bring everyone together and show that support for our teams,” Chigo said. “We kind of came up with an idea to do it for more than just football because we feel that all athletes deserve that support from their school.” 

“Tiger Cage organizes every game day post, every theme announcement, those were big things that took a lot of time and effort. Not only that, but bringing stuff like the confetti or the silly string, the banners, all that stuff was also a large responsibility for me. And then just being sure afterwards people would stay in helping clean it up,” Chigo said. 

Each member of the Tiger Cage has an individual responsibility that they maintain well before, during and after the games. They must prepare all props like banners and silly string or confetti, as well as organize the game day posts and every theme announcement. But there are more responsibilites that many don’t see during game day.

“I normally talk to football players and kind of get like what do they want to see. You know, what will I bring them like that, the hype that they need, and then I talk to Tiger Cage members, I talk to classmates, like who would participate with the themes,” Chigo said. “Then we kind of just go based on that. We also do keep in mind what holidays are around or what events are going around outside of OHS to kind of just coordinate everything and along with other schools and what their themes are.” 

Picking the themes is just one of the many responsibilities that Tiger Cage handles, which has been embedded in the tradition of Tiger Cage. 

“Tiger Cage has always been a thing here at Oakville, but I think that this year we really expanded it and brought up a level, so it’s been around for a while, but it’s definitely more out there now than it was before,” Chigo said. “As of right now, we have, I want to say, 15 or 16 members including myself, so that’s pretty big.”

Since Tiger Cage has been a vital part of the football atmosphere, there is now a process of how people are able to get involved with it. 

“At the start of every sport, like for example hockey’s coming up, there’s a Google Form that goes out. The Tiger Cage members that work here from the start have first come first serve … I just want to be sure to include everyone who has the interest of being a Tiger Cage member, allowing that opportunity for them, because there’re no limitations,” Chigo said. “You just fill out the Google Form and that’s like a contract in a way that you’re going to take on the responsibilities that come with Tiger Cage, then you just get added into the group chat to contribute ideas and do your part.”

It can be stressful leading and planning a big part of the OHS culture, but it is possible.

“Just be determined, you know. Be outgoing, just put yourself out there. It’s really fun. I mean we all have fun with it. It’s not that large of a responsibility really. It’s really, it’s not aimed to be seen as like a job. It’s more just striving — I strive to make Tiger Cage like just a fun group to be a part of really,” Chigo said. “It’s going to be hard at first for a while, but eventually it gets better and as long as you’re having fun, that’s all that matters.”