Warriors use 'Click-Boom Nation' as mantra

By Allen Etzler
Published in Sports on December 5, 2014 1:50 PM

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aetzler@newsargus.com

Stand on the Eastern Wayne sideline for a game and you'll hear it.

Watch them during practice and you'll hear it.

See them celebrating a victory post-game at the local Cookout establishment and you'll hear it.

C-B-N. Boom.

It's the inevitable chant that the Warriors football team has become known for.

"Sideline," someone will yell. "Let's get this thing jumpin'."

"C-B-N. Boom," the rest of the team belts in response.

"There's no set time that we do it," EW senior captain Dayshawn Pridgen says. "You just feel it."

Teammate Deshawn Boudy chimes in: "It's basically us saying 'let's get crunk right now.'"

Sure, it's a chant that gets the Warriors and their fans energized after a big play. But the letters C-B-N are more than just a clever way to make noise on the sideline.

Click-Boom Nation is the Warriors identity.

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In 2010, the Warriors were coming off a one-win season.

It was a stark contrast to the program gearing up to play in its second consecutive eastern regional final against Havelock tonight. Players played for themselves. They didn't spend time with teammates after practice. They were the team their opponents checked off as an easy win.

That was until captains of the 2010 team -- Chris Andrews, Brandon Williams and Lamar Best -- sat down one day and decided if the program was going to be successful, they needed to change the culture.

"We knew we needed to be a family," Andrews said. "Not just the football team. It needed to be the whole school, no matter what gender, what race, what sport ... athlete, non-athlete, whatever.

"That's why we called it the nation. Because it had to be everyone."

Andrews, Williams and Best adopted the name "click-boom," from a phrase that used to be tossed around in the locker room and the Nike ad campaign, called the "Boom" campaign.

"We really became a family," Andrews said. "We did everything together. We went to each others' houses, hung out after practice, we ate together. If one of us was in trouble we would help each other out."

The results showed immediately.

The 2010 Warriors team won eight games and claimed its first conference championship in 32 years.

The foundation had been laid.

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Now Click-Boom Nation is synonymous with Warriors football, and the program is the gold standard for Wayne County football.

No longer are they the team opponents check off for an easy win, but now they're the team other programs are gunning for. After posting 22 wins in the last two seasons they're recognized as one of the most dangerous teams in North Carolina.

Their three-letter slogan is a big reason for that.

"We saw the older guys and we just decided we were going to keep the tradition going and try to represent them in the best way that we can," Boudy said. "(CBN) is part of our history of Eastern Wayne."

CBN is engrained in the everyday lives of the Warriors players. Many of them call themselves "boomboy's" as part of the tradition. Some players have the "boomboy" mantra as their Twitter handles.

They even have their first "boomgirl" this year in the program with kicker Cameron Dove. Andrews' goal of having the family stay together regardless of sex seems to have been successful.

"It's cool to have a 'boomgirl' on the team," Boudy said. "We wanted her to be a part of this and she is. She even changed her (Twitter) name. She's the first-ever, maybe (she'll be) the only. But she's just like all of us."

Even with the success of the program the last few years, the appreciation and recognition didn't always follow suit. The Warriors still feel like they're underdogs and unnoticed. But last year, they felt a glimpse of recognition when the Bojangles on 70 displayed the letters "CBN" on their restaurant billboard in support of Eastern Wayne going to the regional finals.

"That was crazy, I got that up on my Instagram," Boudy said. "It felt like before nobody really noticed us. That was when people started to realize we're much more than just that little old Eastern Wayne team. We actually have a lot of good people, cool people (and) interesting people."

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Andrews recently moved to South Carolina, so he doesn't get to as many games as he would like, but he has all the numbers of the players in his phone. He sends them texts whenever he can. He's proud to see something he put together carry on and last.

"It's a great thing that they keep representing CBN," he said. "That was what we wanted to accomplish. It means a lot to me to watch these guys doing what they're doing."

This year, perhaps more than ever, the Warriors have shown just how much of a family they really are. As a community they came together in support of Pridgen when he needed them most after losing his mother in September.

Click-Boom Nation has turned out in full for a kid going through one of the toughest losses imaginable, and putting together one of the finest seasons in school history on both sides of the ball.

That's what CBN is all about.

It's more than a chant on the sideline, or a Twitter handle.

It's a culture -- the fiber of Eastern Wayne football.

"It's our family legacy," Boudy said. "We carry the legacy and it means a lot to be able to say I'm a 'boomboy.' I represent CBN. It just means a lot, knowing from where we started and where we are now ... And this (win tonight) would mean so much. Last year we were content just getting there. Now we're like we got to win. It's only right if we beat Havelock.

"Some stuff you can't put into words."