Senior Rattle City leader Jason Brown says that he “always thought the fan section was big and thriving”, but the fact that others think it is dying shows him that they “need to prove they belong”.

Three short years ago, Rattle City was the face of Franklin High School. Now, it has fallen into a niche club that gets very few new members. Some claim it might be dying, but committed FHS students are trying to bring it back.

As attendance began to dwindle last season Rattle City seemed destined to die, until the basketball team single handedly saved it from its sure demise. Featuring shocking upsets, exciting finishes, and cult heroes, the 2016-2017 Boys Basketball team’s playoff run shocked Rattle City back to life. Alex Klowan, a senior basketball player here at Franklin says that the fans play an integral role in the success of the team. Klowan stated that “Rattle City has helped me as an athlete compete at a high level because of all the noise hyping me up”. He also knows that they “can’t show up in front of a rowdy home crowd and catch [the] loss”. Rattle City and Klowan seem to feed off each other during games, and that should continue this season.

Now, it is up to incoming seniors to continue this momentum, The new crop of overseers has been selected, and they are doing their best to ensure that the fan section is as rowdy as ever this year. Improving the school-wide image of the group and making it inclusive to students of all grades could be a major step the Rattle City team will take to attempt to revitalize itself. Fellow Rattle City overseer Freddie Beckmann says that he hopes to promote a “healthy… fun place where kids can come together and be a big part of the success of Franklin athletics”.

While Brown and Beckman were very secretive about Rattle City’s plans this year, they did confirm that Twitter polls would be back this year to determine themes. There have also been rumbles about having a night themed around Klowan, though those rumors are unconfirmed. This could be a make or break year for Rattle City, and they will try to come back strong and re-establish themselves among one of the best fan sections in all of Massachusetts.