Steve Silveira loves to watch sporting events and sees every game he can, but what he loves more is school spirit.

Silveira coached for 20 years in club and high school sports. He ran track and played football when growing up and has been involved with athletics his whole life.

Silveira has a grandson, senior Logan Wheeler, who plays football and baseball and a granddaughter, junior Whitney Wheeler, who played volleyball.

Silveira appreciates more than just sporting events. He loves the dedication that student athletes put into their sports.

“It is not so much the sports, it is the kids. The kids who are participating in sports and extracurricular activities it is a huge sacrifice,” said Silveira. “They sacrifice a lot of their personal, free time, and even homework. What I have learned is that they do not want to sacrifice is appreciation from their parents, and even from their peers.”

Silveira is a big sports fan but attends so many sporting events to show that someone appreciates all the sacrifices that an athlete has to make in order to play a sport. He likes to attend the big sporting events like basketball and football but also attends the smaller sporting events like volleyball and cross country.

“Those are they kids that work just as hard and sacrifice just as much and they go out there to play and there is no one there,” said Silveira. “Moms and dads work especially for freshman and junior varsity sports they play earlier so sometimes moms and dads can not make it. I think it is important for someone to be there.”

Silveira attends many sports games and this memory stood out above all of them.

“You think I would be excited because we beat El Camino, and I was, but really the memorable moment was the kids on the other side screaming so loud that they drowned out the kids from El Camino,” said Silveira. “The kids from El Camino started to cheer and the other Rio kids responded and drowned them out. That was the best memory because that is school spirit.”

Silveira enthusiasm focuses more on the athletes than the sport.

“I cheer for kids who are giving everything they have and it is not always the star. A lot of times the star athlete athletics comes easy they can do things easily that some kids who are not as talented can not do, said Silveira. “Sometimes you can see a kid that has their heart into what they are trying to do so those are the kids that I really love to support.”

Spectators hear Silveira before they see him. He comes with his cheer leading paraphernalia: megaphone, air horn, and cowbell.

“The kids on the court want to see support and need support,” said Silveira. “When they look in the bleachers they see it, but when they are out there participating they do not see who is in the bleachers but they will hear you.”
Silveira is a big fan but not everyone is a fan of his paraphernalia.

“We were at Bear River and after the match our couch came up to me and said the coach on the other side and their team is really mad at you because they could hear me so loud on the other side and our coach said go for it” said Silveira.

Although Silveira sometimes annoys people during sporting events he has no plan to stop any time soon.

Silveira said, “I will keep doing it and if someone tells me to stop I am going to tell them to show me where in the rule book it says that I can not have a mega phone or cow bell and then I will stop.”