We’ve all seen the sea of red in the stands, the fearless leaders of the never-ending cheers at every soccer and basketball game, the un-uniformed cheerleaders leading the pack into Madison Square Garden every home game. They are the students who bleed red, who epitomize what it means to be a Johnny. They are our peers who keep our spirits up when the game is tied. They are the spirit squad of St. John’s. They are RedZone, the organized student section for all Division 1 sports here at St. John’s. And they are lead by health and human services junior, Ridge McKnight.
“I started going to sporting events here at St. John’s because I love sports…When I went to the games I noticed a crowd of people that cheered really loud and was at every game. I started becoming friends with the really outgoing students and that is when they told me I should be apart of the RedZone.”
McKnight, whi is also and RA and Campus Ministry Leader at St. John’s said RedZone has taught him that having pride in what you do enables you to be more successful, which will help him in the future.
RedZone has a big following at St. John’s. It hosts most events before and after each sports game as well as tailgates and giveaways. It also plans away game trips to support our teams on the road. RedZone is even responsible for planning bigger events on campus such as Big East Conference and Super Bowl viewing parties.
“RedZone has helped me love St. John’s even more,” McKnight said. “More importantly it has given me a huge network of friends.”
Although there are plenty of active groups on campus, RedZone is the only one run by student fans for on campus teams. McKnight said his favorite memory was watching St. John’s beat Syracuse 69 to 57 for the first time in 13 years in December. Since St. John’s is a relatively small school for a D1 sports team, McKnight says school spirit is very important.
“It is sometimes the difference between transferring and staying,” he said. “I think students enjoy school a lot more when they have pride in their school.”