A catchphrase for a team runs deep. It’s deeper than a simple saying. It’s deeper than a corporate-coded motto. It exists as a passion for players and coaches alike. And in some rare occurrences, it becomes bigger than a team. It becomes bigger than a school. It becomes a part of a community.
For North, #uKNIGHTed, a motto that started in the girl’s varsity basketball team, evolved from a catchy saying to a lifestyle, emphasizing the importance of being one community while including a clever reference to the school to hit close to home for many.
“Every year I come up with a phrase for our basketball team, kind of like our motto,” girls varsity basketball coach Danielle Rampley said. “I usually let seniors choose it for the next year. We wanted something to bring us together. We’ve always had slogans about being one or being together as a team and that was kind of how that came about. I think with the uKNIGHTed, we wanted to use our name and it kind of just came from there and then I started using it every year.”
Although it was clever, the phrase only saw its full potential once disaster struck. For the team, #uKNIGHTed served to uplift them during COVID-19, when people were forced to leave what they love behind, including basketball.
“During COVID, we had a lot of girls that were leaving the team,” Rampley said. “I think we had six or seven seniors leaving that team. We talked about it and just like keeping everybody together [because] we’re going to have a lot of new girls, especially on the varsity level.”
COVID-19 wasn’t the only factor that led to unity. After discovering the clever comradery that Rampley created with the basketball teams, varsity football coach and sponsor of Iron Knights and E-Sports, Brett Bevil, took matters into his own hands to spread the motto.
“I think it’s very clever,” Bevill said. “I mean, the word united, even without the knight in it, means to come together for a common cause. I think that can kind of explain what we want to have happen at the school. Everybody can feel welcome.”
Although #uKNIGHTed existed for years before Bevill’s adoption, it didn’t properly take off until the varsity football team began utilizing it.
“I think that a lot of times the school will kind of take on how the athletics are doing,” Bevill said. “There might be more student involvement in games and everyone wants to get excited about the game. It’s kind of hard to get excited about [something] like a science test coming up. But whenever you’re going to go play Timberland on a Friday for homecoming, a lot of the school can come together and, you know, rally around the team.”
Football although wasn’t the end of the #uKNIGHTed journey. Iron Knights, the school’s weightlifting club, quickly began utilizing the phrase, even printing it on their famed “#uKNIGHTed Through Iron” t-shirts.
“I want to see as many kids participate and just build that school community,” assistant Activities Director and Dean of Students Dusty Weiskopf said. “I think it makes you have a little more sense of pride for the shield on your chest.”
Pride isn’t the only reason it took off. When North went through its multi-million-dollar transformation, #uKNIGHTed was altered into a school-wide concept, evolving from its humble beginnings on the basketball team to a school-wide presence.
“We started using it and then we just moved on to our next slogan, but then I was like ‘I don’t want to let that one go,’ I felt like that one was a little bit different. I just used that one in addition to the other ones that we use each year. I never thought I would become kind of a school thing, but I’m glad it has. I think it’s very fitting, and it works for our community here.”
Although unique to the school, many hope to have a similar phrase become something larger.
“I was 18 years old sitting in high school when the 9/11 attacks happened and that really united and brought our country together,” Weiskopf said. “Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen that kind of dissent amongst our nation and I’d like to see that unitedness come back with not only our community, but our nation as a whole. So, I think that united peace really gets you as students and staff and our community to actually come together and unite.”
Along with others, Rampley hopes to see the phrase become a larger part in everyday life.
“I think if everybody can buy into the #uKNIGHTed slogan, know what it stands for, and use it in every aspect, not just in athletics, I think it can unify everybody,” Rampley said.
