This season, the boys’ basketball team has received more fan support than in seasons past and a big part of the credit goes to this year’s group of Hatters’ Hooters.

The “Hooters” are DHS’ unofficial fan section, which has been one of the biggest groups initiated by students for the purpose of endorsing school spirit. There has always been a group of captains who are in charge of making and selling the coveted Hooters tee-shirts and organizing school-spirited events. This season, the captains are Christian Moraes, Tyler Granja, Hack Depew, Matt Delima, Nicholas Bueti, Paul Messuri, Jay Mortara, and Jonathan Selino, all seniors.

This year, the games have been selling out more than any of the previous seasons, and the fan section has been receiving recognition as one of the most excited fan sections in Connecticut. Moraes attributes these successes to the captains being “a lot more passionate about going to the games and supporting [the team].”

The captains maintain a Twitter account to keep the fans updated on events, schedules, and themes of the games. With more than 200 followers, they reach an audience beyond the DHS community.

“There is no comparison to the sellout at the Immaculate vs. Danbury game, with both sections completely filled up… Never seen a game like that before” says Hatters Basketball Coach Nate Wilda on Twitter.

Other accounts on the social media platform recognize the Danbury fan section as one of the best in the country, saying the game of Danbury vs. Ridgefield had the potential to be one of the best games in the state (@best_sections).

“I went to games every season, every year that I attended DHS” says Wilson Sorriento, Class of 2016, “the Hooters were barely a thing, it was just who showed up. I’m very proud of the progress that the students are making, the Hooters are making a comeback.”

Some students are crediting the Hooters as the incentive to come to the games. “I’ve never gone to a game before this year,” says Heidi Couberman, junior. “This year was completely different because [the captains] actually tried to get everyone to ‘show out’ to the games, regardless of their class, gender, or skin color. It feels more inclusive.”

This season, the games have been so popular that students arriving past the start of the game have been declined entry. “My friends and I were coming to see the Immaculate vs. Danbury game, and not only could we hear the cheering from the doors outside, but we couldn’t even get in because we were around 15 minutes late,” says Gabriel Lopez, senior.

“The fans are our motivation,” says Connor Goodwin, a guard on the varsity team. “Knowing we have people beyond the team that want us to succeed just makes the team try harder.”

Even with all of the praise and success that the fan section has received, the Hooters captains want more results. “The Immaculate game fan section, especially when we were all celebrating in the parking lot, will forever be one of my favorite high school basketball game memories… Every game we should be trying to have an even bigger fan section than that game. I better see all y’all there,” Moraes says.