Jordan PeckFremont High SchoolState Journalism ContestNewspaper Layout2012-2013 School Year

It’s a game-day Saturday night and Fremont High School students are ready for the excitement and festivities to begin. Suddenly, there’s a bang, then a crash, and out of nowhere nine furry critters in various animal costumes appear through the front door of the Al Bahe Gym and the mayhem begins. These furry critters, otherwise known as the Furry Friends, have made a signifi cant impact at FHS this school year.

The Furry Friends are nine FHS students, who hop into nine different animal costumes and then do their thing. Since the beginning of the school year, the Furry Friends have performed at the FHS Back-To-School Bash, as well as numerous pep rallies and sporting events at FHS, Archibishop Bergan and Arlington High School. While the popularity of the Furry Friends has increased this year, their identities remain a mystery.

“We prefer to be kept anonymous so we don’t look like a bunch of losers running around in suits, it also helps keeping us a secret while we prank people,” said Peter the Penguin.

The original Furry Friend members are Peter the Penguin, Ernie the Elephant, Pinkey the Pig, Patchy the Parrot, Timmy the Turtle, Leo the Lion, Gustavo the Gorilla and Charlie the Chicken. Willy the Wolf joined the group-bringing the total number of Furry Friends to nine- during the fall of 2012.

The Furry Friends were originally founded the summer of 2012 (out of boredom they say). These FHS students hopped online and purchased their costumes (that cost around $70-$110 each) in hopes of fi nding a cure to their summer slump. When the costumes fi rst arrived, the Furry Freinds got busy. They started out small, by making appearances at local grocery stores and social gatherings around town, then they decided to try new things.

“One of the fi rst times the Furry Friends showed up at my house, I was shocked,” said senior Katy Wilson. “I didn’t know who any of them were and it really freaked me out. Anything in a costume scares me, especially when there were a bunch of them crashing into my house.”

The Furry Friends developed their name from the simple fact that their costumes are “furry” and that all nine of them are “friends” thus making their trademark name the Furry Friends.

The Furry Friends made their FHS debut at the Back to School Bash in August of 2012. The Furry Friends approached Heidi Moran, an assistant athletic director at FHS, in hopes that they would be able to make an appearance in front of a large audience at the Back to School Bash. With Moran’s approval, the Furry Friends waltzed out onto the Al Bahe gymnasium fl oor that August evening and the Furry Friends Frenzy was offi cially started.

“We are now well-known around Fremont and the surrounding cities,” said Ernie the Elephant. “We started out pranking people and now we have moved up to making appearances at a lot of parties and at any school events we can get to.”

6 Rustler In-Depth February 2013 February 2013 Rustler In-Depth 7

What’s your favorite part about being a Furry Friend?The

What do you like most about the Furry Friends?

evolutionof the

Peter the Penguin: “Perks,we get all the ladies.”

Gustavo the Gorilla: “We always pull pranks and other fun

activities.”

Willy the Wolf: “You

can do whatever

you want!”

Ryan Williams- “The Furry Friends are

super-funny. They make pep

rallies fun.”

Abby Griger- ”I like how they always keep you on your toes!”

Since their appearance at the Back to School Bash, the Furry Friends have made appearances all over Fremont and some of the surrounding communities.

“Our favorite part (about the Furry Friends appearances) is always being at public outings and bringing joy to people,” said Leo the Lion. “Being anonymous really helps bring the excitement of being a Furry Friend?”

In addition to their public appearances (which are now into the double-digits), the Furry Friends have also created a Twitter account. The Furry Friends use their Twitter account to give shout-outs to various FHS students, as well as to attact new followers.

“Our fan base is continuously growing,” said Leo the Lion. “We have around 190 followers on Twitter already.”

The Furry Friends have also used their Twitter account to expand their fame into surrounding schools. The Furry Friends were asked through their Twitter account if they would make an appearance at an Arlington basketball game earlier this month.

“We were really excited when we were asked to do this (perform at an Arlington basketball game),” said Ernie the Elephant. “It gets us more fans and even the cheerleaders.”

More and more students from surrounding schools have become aware of the Furry Friends and their growing popularity. Ernie the Elephant said they are now receiving regular requests to make appearances at various social gatherings and school events.

Although the Furry Friends may be animals on the exterior they still enjoy the normal high school student-life as well.

“Some of our favorite things to do are harassing Katy Wilson, sipping on cold chocolate milk, and getting all the ladies,” said Peter the Penguin. “We just like not having to care and have fun with what we do.”

As the popularity of the Furry Friends continues to grow, Peter the Penguin said the Furry Friends will never forget the fans who have been with them since the beginning.

“Trevor Weigert has always been there for us and he’s been a big supporter of the Furry Friends,” said Peter the Penguin.

Even though the demand for the Furry Friends has become greater, the critters of FHS hope to see their popularity continue to increase.

“We hope that more and more schools will know who we are and that we become more known around more communities in eastern Nebraska,” said Peter the Penguin. “Soon we want to move to the whole state, and, then, hopefully world wide.”

There’s no doubt that the Furry Friends have taken FHS by storm. They started out small and evolved into one of the most popular entertainment acts at Fremont High School in recent memory. The Furry Friends not only give FHS students something to talk about, they seem to have boosted school spirit along the way.

“We love being Furry Friends,” said Ernie the Elephant. “It’s exciting and always brings something new.”

The Furry Friends have become the talk of FHS this school year. Here, the Furry Friends pose for a picture after the winter sports pep rally last semester. The Furry Friends, from front left in-clude: Peter the Penguin,Timmy the Turtle and Ben Swanson (school mascot). From back left: Pinkey the Pig, Willy the Wolf, Gustavo the Gorilla, Ernie the Elephant and Leo the Lion.

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By Jordan PeckRUSTLER STAFF

Who are the furry friends?

How did the frenzy get started?

What are they doing now?

What’s next?