Unleashing the McCracken

Enthusiastic basketball fan stays faithful to the Flames and Lady Flames

It was a tradition in Winchester, Virginia, at Millbrook High School basketball games. Someone would scream the phrase, “Unleash the McCracken.” When the call came, out of a painted cardboard box popped Josh “J.J.” McCracken, who screeched at the top of his lungs — just like the legendary sea monster, the Kraken.

“I came from a loud student section in high school,” McCracken said. “I started screaming when the other team would take free throws and realized it was useful.”

McCracken’s basketball ritual led to him receiving the Male Most School Spirit award during his senior year of high school. But when he packed up his box at the end of his high school career, he was far from finished showing his school spirit. The stands in Liberty University’s Vines Center provided a new venue in which McCracken could show off his enthusiasm for his team.

McCracken said that he loves getting involved with the Liberty basketball games and being loud. During the regular season, he tried to go to as many men’s and women’s basketball games as he could, adorned in red and blue face paint and equipped with his decorated box.

His persistence to be present got the players’ attention. McCracken said that before the games, the players often came up to him and said hello.

“I think the basketball players really like that there’s someone who comes to all the games,” McCracken said. “They’ll come by to say thank you and thanks
for coming.”

During Liberty Flames and Lady Flames basketball games, every time a player from the opposite team takes a shot, McCracken screams his well-known, high-pitched scream. After a while, fans of the opposite team caught on to this tradition.

“One of the worst experiences I had was during a High Point girls game,” McCracken said. “A guy came over, I think it was one of the parents, (and) stood next to me and started screaming in my face.”

But McCracken did not react and just continued his Kraken-like wail while the man yelled.“I thought it was funny,” McCracken said.

This is McCracken’s second season cheering on the Flames and the Lady Flames from the stands, and he decided to send in some footage of him at the games for the Big South Fan of the Year.

“I sent them photos and videos of me at the games,” McCracken said. “Unfortunately, I was only a finalist.”

Unmoved by not winning Big South Fan of the Year, McCracken still knows that what he does is pretty unusual and special.

“I’m a commercial aviation major,” McCracken said. “This is not something that you’d expect someone in that major to do.”

Although the commercial aviation major may be taxing, McCracken said he wants to stay committed to his home team next season. According to McCracken, he wants to bring back the face-paint, the screeching and the spirit to Liberty Flames and Lady Flames basketball next year, and he hopes more people will join him inhis endeavor.

Walsh is a feature reporter.