Before homecoming, they were simply marching band members, otherwise known as “The Crop Top Boys.” Now, after their homecoming success, the Slam Dukes are known throughout the school as York’s Kings of the Couch, winning the 2016 competition with their enthusiastic display of school spirit.

“All we wanted to do was get school spirit up and get people involved, and I think we did that in the most fun and energetic way possible,” said Gabe Lewis, a member of the Slam Dukes.

Along with Lewis, his teammates, Sam Jordan-Wood, Matt Shiley, and Eric Peronto, most definitely brought the fun and energy they strove to spread for the school–and their work paid off. The Slam Dukes were one of five teams who fought for the title, making the choice incredibly difficult for students. To win the vote, they developed a strategy to spread the most Duke Pride.

“We just made a lot of noise and got ourselves out there,” said Jordan-Wood. “We went to tons of events and made sure everyone knew who we were and what we were about.”

At events, they wore their crop tops, jorts, and basketball jerseys emblazoned with their group name, the Slam Dukes. What inspired their theme?

“When it came down to our theme, Slam Dukes was just the most hype. We bounced around different ideas but Slam Dukes prevailed,” said Lewis. “‘Storks of York’ was actually in the running where we would’ve gone around dressed as pregnant moms. Shake weights, Crocs, babies–the whole nine yards. The creativity this year was awesome and lots of fun but we felt we would thrive the most with hype and energy.”

Their decision to focus on bringing the hype helped them become this year’s homecoming champions, but come homecoming game, the team wasn’t able to embrace their exclusive seats right away. First, they had to take up their instruments on the field, as three of the four members belong to the marching band.

Because they couldn’t enjoy the couch right away, they invited other teams to join them. Senior Tatum Langley, member of How the Dukes Stole Christmas, shared what this experience meant to her in an Instagram post of the two teams on the couch.

“Sometimes your freshman year dreams come true,” said Langley. “And sometimes they’re moments that will stay with you forever.”

This event truly encompassed the spirit of this year’s King of the Couch competition – while it was a competition, it encouraged the whole school to be more involved, bringing more spirit to the school and students closer together.

Now that the competition is over, the York-hi wants to know about the new Kings of the Couch’s plans for the future.

“All we know is that there will be jorts, lot’s of pudding parties, and Sunday nights in the quarrie.”